\n2/ The Federal Election Commission chairwoman called Trump’s repeated allegations of voter fraud in the 2016 election unsubstantiated and “damaging to our democracy� because they “undermines people’s faith� in the election system. Ellen Weintraub’s comment came after Trump asserted at a rally in New Hampshire that voter fraud is the reason he lost the state’s four electoral votes in the previous election. “There is no evidence of rampant voter fraud in 2016,� Weintraub added, “or really in any previous election.� (Politico / CNN / Axios)
\n3/ Trump falsely claimed that he has the authority to make decisions about which TV networks can host the presidential debates during the general election. While complaining that Democrats had barred Fox News from hosting or televising the 2020 Democratic primary debates, Trump warned that he could do the same to Fox News in the general election if the polls about his reelection chances coming out of the network don’t change for the better. “My worst polls have always been from Fox,� Trump said. “And I think Fox is making a big mistake, because, you know, I’m the one that calls the shots on that — on the really big debates.� (Politico)
\n\n- Trump is “not happy� with Fox News after a recent poll by the network showed him losing head-to-head matchups with four of the top Democratic candidates. Trump said he didn’t “believe� the poll. (Politico)
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\n4/ Thousands of union workers at a Shell plant in Pennsylvania were ordered to attend a Trump speech last week or lose some of their weekly pay. The rules given to workers stated that attendance was “not mandatory,� but only those who arrived at 7 a.m., swiped in with their work IDs, and stood for hours waiting to hear Trump speak would be paid for their time. “NO SCAN, NO PAY,� said the memo, which also prohibited the workers from doing “anything viewed as resistance� during the event. (CNBC)
\n2/ Trump claimed that Americans –Â\xa0“whether you love me or hate meâ€� – have “no choiceâ€� but to vote for him in 2020, because the stock market will collapse otherwise. Trump also baselessly accused the media of “doing everything they can to crash the economy because they think that will be bad for me and my re-election.â€� Trump, meanwhile, recently attacked the Federal Reserve, forced Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to label China a “currency manipulator,â€� and delayed tariffs on Chinese imports over concerns they could depress holiday sales. (New York Times / Washington Post)
\n3/ Trump body shamed one of his supporters at a campaign rally, saying “That guy has got a serious weight problem. Go home, get some exercise!� Frank Dawson, who was wearing a “Trump 2020� shirt, was standing near a group of protesters holding two banners. Trump later called from Air Force One, and left a voice mail message for Dawson, but did not apologize for the insult. (Washington Post / New York Times / Daily Beast)
\n4/ The House Republican strategy on gun violence is to describe mass shootings as “violence from the left� while downplaying white nationalism, according to a talking points memo recently circulated. According to the Anti-Defamation League, 73% of extremist-related murders are committed by right-wing fanatics and white supremacists. No extremist-related murder in the United States last year was carried out by “the left.� (Tampa Bay Times
\n5/ The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rolled back a nationwide injunction that blocked the Trump administration from denying most asylum claims at the U.S.-Mexico border. The decision will now effectively block most Central Americans who cross into the U.S. –Â\xa0legally or illegally – in New Mexico or Texas from seeking asylum while allowing those who cross the border into California or Arizona to claim asylum. (ABC News / Axios)
\n6/ Trump and his national security advisers are considering a deal with the Taliban for a withdrawal of most U.S. forces from Afghanistan. In exchange, the Taliban would agree to renounce al-Qaeda and to prevent it from activities such as fundraising, recruiting, training and ope...', '
1/ The House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski to testify publicly about potential obstruction of justice by Trump. The committee also issued a subpoena to former White House deputy chief of staff for policy Rick Dearborn. House Judiciary chair Jerrold Nadler said the two former Trump aides will testify publicly on Sept. 17th and expects their testimony “will help the Committee determine whether to recommend articles of impeachment against the President or other Article 1 remedies.� The Mueller report said Trump asked Lewandowski to convince then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to un-recuse himself from the investigation into Russian election interference, and publicly say Trump had not done anything wrong. (Politico / NBC News / New York Times / Axios)
\n2/ Trump thinks Lewandowski would be a “fantastic� senator if he ran in New Hampshire. Lewandowski has been reportedly considering a Senate run and is expected to make an appearance at a Trump rally in the state on Thursday. The House Judiciary Committee subpoena came hours after Trump told a local radio station that Lewandowski would make a “great senator,� who would be “hard to beat� if he ran against Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat. (New York Times / Washington Post / NBC News / Politico)
\n3/ White House officials want to invoke executive privilege to limit or block Lewandowski’s testimony despite Lewandowski never working in the administration. The White House previously invoked executive privilege to block Don McGahn, Hope Hicks, and Annie Donaldson – who all held titles in the West Wing – from complying with similar congressional subpoenas. Lewandowski, however, has only informally advised Trump since his work on the 2016 campaign ended. (CNN)
\n4/ A federal judge rejected the House Judiciary Committee’s attempt to link Robert Mueller’s grand jury evidence with compelling Don McGahn to testify. The committee contends that the two lawsuits will expedite its decision whether to recommend articles of impeachment against Trump. House General Counsel Douglas Letter argued that the two cases should be paired in front of the judge, because both seek evidence for a potential impeachment and are based on the same set of facts. D.C. federal District Court Chief Judge Beryl Howell ruled that connections between the two suits are “too superficial.� (Politico)
\n5/ Trump retweeted a criminologist who argued that there is no evidence that the United States is experiencing an “epidemic� of mass shootings. At least four people have been killed in a mass shooting, o...', '
1/ The Trump administration formally proposed regulation allowing some businesses to discriminate against workers on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, and LGBTQ status by citing religious objections. The rule would apply to any organizations with federal contracts, including corporations, schools, and societies, provided they claim a “religious purpose,� but that “this need not be the contractor’s only purpose.� (BuzzFeed News)
\n2/ Planned Parenthood will withdraw from the nation’s family planning program because of new Trump administration rules that block Title X funds for organizations that provide or refer patients for abortion. Federal funding for abortion is already prohibited in most cases. The new rules, however, target any group involved in providing or counseling patients about abortions, blocking them from receiving Title X funding to pay for other services, such as contraception and health screenings. Planned Parenthood asked for a stay against the new rules. (NPR)
\n\n- A Congressional Republican defended banning all abortion with no exceptions for rape or incest. Steve King also argued that if it were not for rape or incest, there wouldn’t “be any population of the world left.� [Editor’s note: Go fuck yourself Steve King.] (Des Moines Register / New York Times / Washington Post / Axios)
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\n3/ Trump claimed – without evidence –Â\xa0that being president will personally cost him $5 billion dollars due to the lawyers defending him in various lawsuits. (NBC News)
\n\n- The Secret Service stayed at a Trump hotel in Vancouver while protecting Trump Jr. on a hunting trip to Canada in August 2017. They spent $5,700. The Secret Service also spent $20,000 at the same hotel in February 2017 when Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Tiffany Trump attended the hotel’s grand opening. Congress hasn’t launched a formal investigation into federal spending at Trump properties, but the House Oversight Committee has focused on the emoluments clause of the Constitution, which forbids presidents from accepting gifts from foreign officials. (Politico)
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\n4/ The Trump administration will shield funding for Ivanka Trump and Pence’s programs as the White House looks to cancel billions of dollars in unspent funding already approved by Congress. The White House is expected to propose returning billions of dollars of unspent foreign aid funds to the Treasury in a process known as rescission. The Office of Management and Budget, however, has already ruled out canceling funds for Ivanka’s Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative, Pence’s programs for Christians, Yazidis and other religious minorities in the Middle East, and some global health programs. Republicans and Democrats say the review undermines Congress’s authority to appropriat...', '
1/ Trump delayed imposing tariffs on some Chinese imports until December. Trump told reporters that he delayed tariffs “for the Christmas season� on cellphones, laptop computers, video game consoles, and certain types of footwear and clothing “just in case� there would be a negative impact on shoppers during the holidays. The 10% tariff on $300 billion worth of Chinese imports will be delayed until Dec. 15, instead of taking effect on Sept. 1 as Trump originally announced. The U.S. Trade Representative office said certain products will also be taken off the list based on “health, safety, national security and other factors.� Markets rallied on the news. (New York Times / Washington Post / Politico / CNBC / Axios)
\n2/ Trump’s tax cuts, reduced regulation, and tariffs have been ineffective at drawing factory investment and jobs from abroad. Instead, Trump’s trade policies have pushed factory activity to low-cost Asian countries, like Vietnam. Foreign and domestic business investment briefly accelerated after Trump signed a $1.5 trillion tax-cut package in late 2017, but then slowed. In Trump’s first two years in office, companies announced plans to relocate about 145,000 factory jobs to the U.S. However, more than half of those jobs were announced in 2017 –Â\xa0before Trump’s tax cuts took effect. (New York Times)
\n3/ Trump tried to take credit for the construction of Shell’s petrochemicals complex in western Pennsylvania, which will turn the natural gas deposits into plastics. “This would have never happened without me and us,� Trump told a crowd of thousands of workers. Shell, however, announced its plans to build the complex in 2012, when Obama was in office. (Associated Press)
\n4/ A coalition of 22 states and seven cities sued to block the Trump administration from easing restrictions on coal-burning power plants, saying the EPA had no basis for weakening the Clean Power Plan that set national limits on carbon dioxide pollution from power plants. The lawsuit argues that the Affordable Clean Energy rule ignores the EPA’s responsibility to set limits on greenhouse gases and that the new rule would extend the life of dirty and aging coal-burning plants, increasing pollution instead of curbing it. (New York Times)
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🌡 America’s fastest-warming places: Extreme climate change has arrived. (Washington Post)
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📌 Day 931: Climate change is putting pressure on the ability of humanity to feed itself, according to a new United Nations report that was prepared by more than 100 experts from 52 countries and, unanimously approved. The report warns that the world’s land and water resources are being exploited at “unprecedented rates� and “the cycle is accelerating.� Climate change has...', '
1/ The Trump administration made it harder for legal immigrants who rely on government benefit programs to obtain permanent legal status as part of a new policy aimed at reducing legal immigration and cutting down the number of poor immigrants. The new regulation makes it easier for federal officials to deny green cards and visa applications to legal immigrants who have received public benefits, such as Medicaid, food stamps, or housing vouchers, have low incomes, or little education, deeming them more likely to need government assistance in the future. Wealth, education, age and English-language skills will take on greater importance for obtaining a green card, as the change seeks to redefine what it means to be a “public charge.� (CNN / NBC News / Politico / Washington Post / New York Times)
\n2/ The White House has ordered ICE officials to conduct more “workplace enforcement operations� this year. After the recent raids in Mississippi led to the arrest of at least 680 undocumented workers, ICE field offices across the country were told to identify at least two locations in their respective regions as potential targets for additional raids. (CNN)
\n\n- “If you’re a good worker, papers don’t matter�: How a Trump construction crew has relied on immigrants without legal status. For nearly two decades, the Trump Organization has relied on a roving crew of Latin American employees at the company’s winery and its golf courses from New York to Florida. (Washington Post)
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\n3/ The Trump administration weakened the Endangered Species Act, allowing the government to put an economic cost on saving a species. The changes will also make it harder to consider the effects of climate change on wildlife. Critics argue that the change will accelerate the extinction for some plants and animals and clear the way for new mining, oil and gas drilling, and development in areas where protected species live. (New York Times / Associated Press / NBC News / Washington Post)
\n\n- The EPA dropped salmon protections after Trump met with with Alaska’s governor. EPA scientists were planning to oppose a controversial Alaska mining project on environmental grounds that could devastate one of the most important wild salmon fisheries. In 2014, the project was halted because an EPA study found that it would cause “complete loss of fish habitat due to elimination, dewatering, and fragmentation of streams, wetlands, and other aquatic resources� in some areas of Bristol Bay. (Washington Post / Politico)\n
2/ The El Paso shooter that killed 22 people told police that his target was “Mexicans� and confessed that “I’m the shooter� when he was arrested. Patrick Crusius also said he had used an AK-47-style rifle and brought multiple magazines with him to carry out the killings. Authorities believe Crusius was the author of a “manifesto� posted online shortly before the attack, saying he wanted to stop the “Hispanic invasion of Texas.� (New York Times / Washington Post)
\n3/ The Trumps posed for a photo with an orphaned two-month-old, whose parents were shot dead in El Paso. Melania Trump smiled broadly and held the baby, while Donald flashed a thumbs-up and grinned. The picture was circulated by Melania Trump and not the family. White House aides had not allowed journalists into the hospital during the visit, saying it was “not a photo op.� (The Guardian / Yahoo)
\n4/ The State Department suspended a foreign affairs official in the energy bureau after his ties to a white nationalist group were revealed. The State Department refused to name the official, but the Southern Poverty Law Center identified him as Matthew Gebert. The SPLC published a report on Wednesday that Gebert hosted white nationalists at his home and published white nationalist propaganda online using a pseudonym. (Reuters)
\n\n- 📌 Day 930: A U.S. State Department official oversaw a Washington, D.C.-area chapter of a white nationalist organization, hosted white nationalists at his home, and published white nationalist propaganda online. Matthew Gebert works as a foreign affairs officer assigned to the Bureau of Energy Resources. (Southern Poverty Law Center)
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\n5/ The White House has prepared an executive order that would give the FCC oversight over tech companies and how they monitor and manage their social networks. “Protecting Americans from Online Censorship� tasks the FCC with developing new regulations to clarify how and when the law protects social networks when they remove or suppress content on their platforms. The draft order also calls for the Federal Trade Commission to take those new policies into account when investigatin...', '
1/ White House officials refused requests by the Department of Homeland Security for more than a year to make combating domestic terror a greater priority. While the National Strategy for Counterterrorism, issued last fall, stated that “Radical Islamist terrorists remain the primary transnational terrorist threat to the United States and its vital national interests,� it included one paragraph about domestic terrorism and made no mention of white supremacists. FBI Director Christopher Wray testified in July that there have been almost as many domestic terror arrests in the last nine months – about 100 – as there have been arrests connected to international terror. Wray also noted that most of the domestic terrorism cases were motivated by white supremacist violence. (CNN)
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📌 Day 803: The Department of Homeland Security quietly disbanded its domestic terrorism unit last year, saying that the threat of “homegrown violent extremism and domestic terrorism,� including the threat from white supremacists, has been “significantly reduced.� The branch of analysts in DHS’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis were reassigned to new positions. (Daily Beast)
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📌 Day 854: The FBI has seen a significant rise in white supremacist domestic terrorism in recent months. No specific numbers were provided, but an FBI official said the cases generally include suspects involved in violence related to anti-government views, racial or religious bias, environmental extremism and abortion-related views. (CNN)
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📌 Day 915: The FBI recorded about 90 domestic terrorism arrests in the past nine months and about 100 international terrorism arrests. Most of the domestic terrorism cases involved a racial motive believed to be spurred by white supremacy. (Washington Post)
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📌 Day 928: FBI Director Christopher Wray ordered the agency to conduct a new threat assessment in order to identify and stop potential future mass shootings. A command group in Washington, D.C. will oversee the effort, during which FBI field offices will actively work to identify threats that are similar to the attacks last week at a food festival and over the weekend in Texas and Ohio. In recent congressional testimony, senior FBI officials said they were conducting about 850 domestic terrorism investigations — down from a year earlier, when there were roughly 1,000. (CNN / Washington Post)
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📌 Day 930: The FBI warned that fringe conspiracy th...', '
1/ The House Judiciary Committee sued to force former White House counsel Donald McGahn to testify before Congress. The Judiciary Committee claimed that McGahn is “the most important witness, other than the president,� in their investigation into possible obstruction of justice by Trump. They asked a federal judge to strike down the Trump administration’s claim that McGahn and other aides are “absolutely immune� from the committee’s subpoenas. McGahn spent more than 30 hours with Robert Mueller’s investigators and his name appears more than 500 times in the redacted version of Mueller’s report. (New York Times / NBC News / ABC News)
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📌 Day 838: The White House invoked executive privilege and ordered former counsel Donald McGahn not to comply with a congressional subpoena for documents related to Robert Mueller’s investigation. In a letter to the House Judiciary Committee, White House counsel Pat Cipollone argued that “McGahn does not have the legal right to disclose these documents to third parties� and asked that the committee instead direct the request to the White House, “because they implicate significant Executive Branch confidentiality interests and executive privilege.� Trump has also promised to assert executive privilege to block McGahn’s testimony to the committee later this month. McGahn spent more than 30 hours speaking to Mueller’s investigators, outlining two episodes where Trump asked him to have Mueller fired, and later asking McGahn to deny news reports about that conversation. McGahn rebuffed both requests. (CNBC / ABC News / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / New York Times)
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📌 Day 844: The White House asked Don McGahn to declare that Trump never obstructed justice. Two requests by presidential advisers show how far the White House has gone to try to push back on accusations that the president obstructed justice. McGahn initially entertained the request. “We did not perceive it as any kind of threat or something sinister,� McGahn’s attorney said in a statement. “It was a request, professionally and cordially made.� (New York Times)
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📌 Day 851: Trump instructed former White House counsel Don McGahn to defy a congressional subpoena and skip a House Judiciary Committee hearing scheduled for Tuesday. The committee subpoenaed McGahn to appear to answer questions about Trump’s attempts to obstruct justice during the Russia investigation, but the White House ...', '
1/ Trump attacked Obama after the former president called on Americans to “soundly reject language coming out of the mouths of any of our leaders that feeds a climate of fear and hatred or normalizes racist sentiments.� Tweeting paraphrased quotes from Fox News hosts, Trump rhetorically asked: “‘Did George Bush ever condemn President Obama after Sandy Hook. President Obama had 32 mass shootings during his reign. Not many people said Obama is out of Control.’� Trump also claimed (again) that he is “the least racist person� in the world. Obama did not mention Trump in his comments. (Politico)
\n2/ The Trump campaign paid for more than 2,000 Facebook ads this year that included the word “invasion� in relation to immigration. The campaign has spent roughly $1.25 million on Facebook ads about immigration since late March. The campaign spent nearly $5.6 million on Facebook ads overall during that same period. “We have an INVASION!� many of the ads say in large letters. “It’s CRITICAL that we STOP THE INVASION.� While there is no evidence that Trump’s campaign messaging influenced the shooter in the white supremacist terrorist attack that left 22 people dead and dozens injured in El Paso, the shooter declared in his manifesto that “this attack is a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas.� (Media Matters / New York Times / The Guardian / USA Today / VICE News)
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📌 Day 651: Trump suggested that he might invoke a state of national emergency in order to justify using the military to arrest and detain migrants and refugees at the southern border. When asked what role active duty military personnel would play, since U.S. law prohibits the U.S. Army from being used to enforce domestic law, Trump said “Well it depends, it depends.� He continued: “National emergency covers a lot of territory. They can’t invade our country. You look at that it almost looks like an invasion. It’s almost does look like an invasion.� (ABC News)
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📌 Day 788: Mick Mulvaney: Trump “is not a white supremacist.� The acting chief of staff went on to say it was “absurd� to draw a connection between Trump’s statements about immigration and the acts of a shooter who embraced both white nationalism and Trump. Last week Trump called undocumented immigrants coming to U.S. an “invasion� as he vetoed a congressional resolution that would block his declaration of a national emergency at the U.S. border with Mexico. (Washington Post / CNN)
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📌 1/ Trump “condemn[ed] racism, bigotry and white supremacy� following two mass shootings in El Paso, TX and Dayton, OH over the weekend that left 31 people dead. Trump, who spent the weekend at his golf resort in Bedminster, N.J., stopped short of endorsing new gun control measures, and instead parroted Republican talking points about the “perils� of mental illness, violence in the media, and violent video games for fostering white nationalism and hatred. In El Paso, the shooter published a four-page “manifesto� on the online message board 8chan about 20 minutes before the attack, saying he wanted to stop the “Hispanic invasion of Texas.� Trump failed to acknowledge his repeated use of the word “invasion� to describe asylum seekers and immigrants at the southern border. Trump also cited the threat of “racist hate� with no acknowledgment that his own anti-immigrant rhetoric. Reading from a teleprompter at the White House, Trump also incorrectly referred to Toledo, Ohio instead of Dayton, Ohio as the location of one of the killings. (New York Times / Washington Post / CNN / Associated Press / The Hill)
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Dayton, Ohio: 9 people were killed and 27 others injured. The shooter used an assault-style rifle with high capacity magazines, wore body armor and a mask. He did not have a police record. (CBS News / Washington Post / Associated Press)
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El Paso, Texas: 22 people were killed and 26 others injured. The shooter used an assault-style rifle. (CNN / New York Times / NBC News)
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\n2/ Hours earlier, Trump called for “strong background checks� and suggested “marrying this legislation with desperately needed immigration reform.� Trump made a similar call to improve background checks after a shooting last year in Florida. Trump, however, threatened to veto a gun control bill that passed the House with bipartisan support in February that would require universal background checks. The bill has not been considered by the Senate, which is on recess until September. (CNN / New York Times)
\n3/ Trump dismissed accusations that his own racist and anti-immigrant rhetoric has stoked racial hatred and helped to provoke would-be mass shooters. Instead, Trump tweeted – without evidence – that the news media is contributing “greatly to the anger and rage that has built up over many years.� The manifesto of the shooter in Texas, however, echoes the same kind of anti-im...', '
1/ Trump dropped his plan to nominate John Ratcliffe as director of national intelligence, “rather than going through months of slander and libel.� Ratcliffe withdrew from consideration following bipartisan questions about his qualifications, pushback over whether he had exaggerated his résumé that required his aids to walk back his claim that as a federal prosecutor he had won convictions in terrorism cases, and former intelligence officials expressing concern that he might politicize the job. Trump claimed that Ratcliffe, who will remain in Congress, “is being treated very unfairly by the LameStream media.� Ratcliffe was Trump’s pick to succeed Dan Coats, who is stepping down as director of national intelligence on Aug. 15. (New York Times / CNN / CNBC / NBC News / Washington Post)
\n2/ The White House will block the nation’s No. 2 intelligence official from taking over as acting director of national intelligence when Dan Coats steps down. A federal statute requires that if the director of national intelligence role becomes vacant, the deputy director — currently Sue Gordon — will serve as acting director. The White House, however, can choose who to appoint as acting deputy if the No. 2 position is vacant, raising the question of whether Gordon will be ousted as part of a leadership shuffle. The White House, meanwhile, has asked the national intelligence office for a list of all its employees at the federal government’s top pay scale who have worked there for 90 days or more. While it’s unclear what the White House will do with the list, many of the people on it may be eligible to temporarily takeover as acting director of national intelligence. (New York Times / Daily Beast)
\n3/ State prosecutors in New York subpoenaed the Trump Organization for documents related to its role in hush money payments made to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal. The investigation is examining whether senior executives filed false business records related to the $130,000 payment Michael Cohen made to Daniels, as well as the arrangement between Cohen and the National Enquirer to pay off McDougal. Falsifying business records would constitute a state crime. The Manhattan district attorney separately subpoenaed American Media Inc., which publishes the National Enquirer. (New York Times)
\n4/ China threatened to retaliate against Trump’s latest round of tariffs on another $300 billion worth of Chinese goods. Trump’s latest round of tariffs would effectively extend punitive duties to everything the U.S. imports from China. A Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman said that if the new tariffs go into effect, “China will have to take necessary countermeasures to resolutely defend its core interests.� (Associated Press)
\n5/ The U.S. will test a new weapons systems in the coming weeks that would have been prohibited under the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty that...', '
1/ Trump unexpectedly announced that he will impose a new 10% tariff on an additional $300 billion worth of Chinese imports – effectively taxing every product that Americans buy from China – after China failed to begin buying more American agricultural products as they had promised. The new tariffs would go into effect on Sept. 1st and would be in addition to the 25% tariff that has already been imposed on $250 billion of imports. The announcement came a day after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer wrapped up talks in Shanghai on a comprehensive trade deal. The negotiations reportedly ended early and without a deal. A new meeting is set up for September. (Washington Post / New York Times / NBC News / CNN / Associated Press)
\n\n- Trump’s former chief economic adviser said the trade war with China is backfiring and having a “dramatic impact� on the U.S. economy. Gary Cohn served as director of the National Economic Council in the Trump administration from January 2017 to April 2018, resigning after Trump decided to impose import tariffs on steel and aluminium. (BBC / CNBC)
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\n2/ The Senate passed a two-year bipartisan budget deal that raises spending $320 billion over current levels and lifts the debt ceiling until after the 2020 election. The legislation now goes to Trump, who is expected to sign it despite complaints from conservatives that it would fuel the nation’s debt. Under the Trump administration, the annual federal deficit is set to reach $1 trillion a year. (Politico / Associated Press / CNBC / Axios / Washington Post / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg)
\n3/ The Inspector General of the Intelligence Community won’t investigate how the White House handled the security clearances for Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump, and other officials unless Trump asks him. Michael Atkinson declined the request to investigate the security clearance process by four top Senate Democrats, saying “The authority over access to classified information ultimately rests with the President of the United States.� In response, the senators wrote a letter to Trump, asking him to order the investigation. The White House did not resp...', '
1/ The Trump administration separated more than 900 migrant children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border after a judge ordered the government to stop the practice in June 2018 except in cases where a parent is unfit or presents a danger to the child. One man lost his daughter because a Border Patrol agent claimed he had failed to change the girl’s diaper and another had his child taken from him because of a property damage conviction allegedly worth $5. Another man who has a speech impediment had his 4-year-old son taken from him because he couldn’t clearly answer Border Patrol agent’s questions. Attorneys for the ACLU asked a federal judge to block the Trump administration from continuing to separate migrant children from their parents. (Washington Post / CNN / NBC News)
\n\n- 📌 Day 524: A federal judge ordered the federal government to reunite migrant families separated under the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance� policy and to end most family separations. U.S. District Court Judge Dana Sabraw issued a nationwide injunction requiring that all children under the age of five be reunited with their parents within 14 days and that older children be reunited within 30 days, and temporarily stopping the practice of separating children from their parents. The judge also ordered that all children who have been separated be allowed to talk to their parents within 10 days. (Politico / New York Times / CNN / Washington Post)
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\n2/ The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point – the first rate cut in more than a decade. The move is meant to protect the U.S. economy against the effects of an economic slowdown in China and Europe and the uncertainty from Trump’s trade war. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the rate cut was a precautionary, “midcycle adjustment� to provide “insurance� against “downside risks.� Trump, who has called in recent months for the Fed to cut interest rates by a full percentage point, tweeted that the interest rate cut was “not enough� and that Powell had “let us down� “as usual.�(New York Times / Politico / CNBC / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / labeling McConnell a “Russian asset.� McConnell has blamed Democrats for politicizing election security. Following McConnell’s speech, the hashtag #MoscowMitchMcTreason began trending on Twitter. (KTLA / Washington Post / New York Times / The Hill)
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Trump defended McConnell and accused the Washington Post of being a “Russian asset.� McConnell “is a man that knows less about Russia and Russian influence than even Donald Trump, and I know nothing,� Trump said. (Washington Post)
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📌 Day 917: Following Robert Mueller’s testimony and warnings about Russia’s continued attempts to interfere in U.S. elections, Senate Republicans blocked two election security bills and a cybersecurity measure. Democrats attempted to pass two bills by unanimous consent on Wednesday that would require campaigns to notify the FBI and the FEC if they receive offers of assistance from foreign governments. The other bill would let the Senate Sergeant at Arms offer voluntary cyber assistance for the personal devices and accounts of lawmakers and their staff. Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith blocked all three of the bills without giving any reason for her objections or indicating whether she blocked the bills on behalf of herself or the GOP caucus. Mueller testified yesterday that “The Russian government’s effort to interfere in our election is among the most serious� and that “it wasn’t a single attempt. They’re doing it as we sit here. And they expect to do it during the next campaign.� (The Hill / CNN)
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\n2/ Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence promoted the now-debunked conspiracy theory of an anti-Trump “secret society� operating within the FBI. John Ratcliffe claimed that the text messages between Lisa Page and Peter Strzok before the 2016 election were proof that the FBI was working against Trump, which fell apart when the exchange became public. Ratcliffe also misrepresented his role in an anti-terrorism case, claiming he had been appointed as a “special prosecutor� in 2008 to secure convictions for funneling money to Hamas, which is a designated terrorist organization. Court records and lawyers inv...', '
1/ Trump called Elijah Cummings a “brutal bully� and his Baltimore-based district a “disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess� that “is considered the worst run and most dangerous anywhere in the United States. No human being would want to live there.� Trump also called Cummings, a black civil rights icon, a “racist.� Trump’s tweets appeared to be in response to a Fox & Friends segment on the same topic that ran earlier in the day, which included images of rundown and neglected apartment buildings in Baltimore. As chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, Cummings has initiated most of the investigations into the Trump administration. Last week, Cummings was authorized to subpoena work-related text and emails by White House officials, including Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner. Trump called Cummings’ “radical ‘oversight’ […] a joke!� (Baltimore Sun / New York Times / Washington Post / Washington Post / The Hill)
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Trump denied being a racist, saying that “there is nothing racist in stating plainly what most people already know, that Elijah Cummings has done a terrible job for the people of his district.� Trump added: “Dems always play the race card when they are unable to win with facts.� (BBC)
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The Baltimore Sun responded to Trump: “Better to have a few rats than to be one.� The editorial accused Trump of deploying “the most emotional and bigoted of arguments� against a Democratic African American congressman from a majority-black district. (Baltimore Sun / Washington Post)
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Four years ago, Trump criticized Obama for not doing enough to address problems in Baltimore. Trump claimed at the time that “I would fix it fast!� (Washington Post)
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Trump attacked Rev. Al Sharpton, calling him “a con man� who “Hates Whites & Cops!� Sharpton had tweeted a photo of himself at an airport with the caption: “headed to Baltimore.� (New York Times)
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📌 Day 917: The House Oversight and Reform Committee authorized subpoenas for senior White House aides official work communications sent via personal email and cellphone. The White House refused to turn over the messages voluntarily earlier this month. Democrats have raised questions about whether Jared Kushner’s WhatsApp communications with foreign officials, Ivanka Trump’s use of a priva...', '
1/ The House Judiciary Committee said it would petition a federal judge to unseal Robert Mueller’s secret grand jury evidence. Chairman Jerry Nadler argued that it’s essential that Congress “have access to all the relevant facts� – including witness testimony – in order to fully investigate potential abuses of power by Trump and his inner circle before deciding whether to recommend articles of impeachment. The petition does not seek the public release of the grand jury evidence. The committee will also continue its investigation during the House’s six-week summer recess and is working to obtain testimony from former White House counsel Don McGahn. Nadler said he is going to court today and again next week to file a lawsuit to force McGahn to testify. (New York Times / Politico / Washington Post)
\n\n- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House will make a decision regarding impeachment in a “timely fashion,� denying that she is trying to “run out the clock� on the issue. Pelosi’s comment came shortly before Nadler said the House Judiciary Committee had already “in effect� been conducting an impeachment inquiry. (NBC News)
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\n2/ Russia targeted the election systems in all 50 states in 2016, the Senate Intelligence Committee’s new report on election interference concluded. Officials believe that Russians probably “scanned� systems in every state for “election-related web pages, voter ID information, election system software, and election service companies.� The investigation found that Russia’s interference began as early as 2014 and continued into at least 2017, but there was no evidence that votes were changed or that any voting machines were compromised. (New York Times / Washington Post)
\n\n- 📌 Day 917: The Senate Intelligence Committee found that “the Russian government directed extensive activity, beginning in at least 2014 and carrying into at least 2017, against U.S. election infrastructure at the state and local level,� according to the committee’s report on Russian interference. The report recommends that Congress provide additional funding for states to secure elections once the $380 million appropriated in 2018 is spent. (NPR / Bloomberg / Axios / The Hill)
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\n3/ Active duty military personnel are stationed within feet of migrant adults and children inside Border Patrol facilities. The proximity could lead to violations of the 140-year-old federal law that prohibits active dut...', '
1/ Following Robert Mueller’s testimony and warnings about Russia’s continued attempts to interfere in U.S. elections, Senate Republicans blocked two election security bills and a cybersecurity measure. Democrats attempted to pass two bills by unanimous consent on Wednesday that would require campaigns to notify the FBI and the FEC if they receive offers of assistance from foreign governments. The other bill would let the Senate Sergeant at Arms offer voluntary cyber assistance for the personal devices and accounts of lawmakers and their staff. Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith blocked all three of the bills without giving any reason for her objections or indicating whether she blocked the bills on behalf of herself or the GOP caucus. Mueller testified yesterday that “The Russian government’s effort to interfere in our election is among the most serious� and that “it wasn’t a single attempt. They’re doing it as we sit here. And they expect to do it during the next campaign.� (The Hill / CNN)
\n2/ Mitch McConnell blocked the two election security measures on Thursday, arguing that Democrats are trying to give themselves a “political benefit.� McConnell called the House-passed legislation “so partisan it received just one Republican vote over in the House,� adding that the election security legislation is being pushed by the same Democrats who pushed the “conspiracy theory� of Trump and Russia. (The Hill / CNN)
\n3/ The Senate Intelligence Committee found that “the Russian government directed extensive activity, beginning in at least 2014 and carrying into at least 2017, against U.S. election infrastructure at the state and local level,� according to the committee’s report on Russian interference. The report recommends that Congress provide additional funding for states to secure elections once the $380 million appropriated in 2018 is spent. (NPR / Bloomberg / Axios / The Hill)
\n4/ The House Oversight and Reform Committee authorized subpoenas for senior White House aides official work communications sent via personal email and cellphone. The White House refused to turn over the messages voluntarily earlier this month. Democrats have raised questions about whether Jared Kushner’s WhatsApp communications with foreign officials, Ivanka Trump’s use of a private email account to conduct official business, and Stephen Bannon’s use of a personal mobile device for White House business violated the Presidential Records Act. (Politico / Washington Post / Mueller testified before the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees in seven hours of back-to-back hearings about his report on the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible obstruction of justice by Trump. Mueller agreed that Trump’s conduct was problematic, that the investigation did not exonerate Trump, and that Trump did not cooperate fully with the investigation. Mueller did not to go beyond the findings in his 448-page final report and declined repeatedly to offer his opinion on questions or even to read directly from the document.
\n👉 Start here for in-depth articles recapping Mueller’s back-to-back testimony today. (New York Times / Washington Post / Bloomberg / CNN)
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🔥 “What we learned�-style Recaps: New York Times / Axios / USA Today
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👩�💻 Live Blogs: New York Times / Washington Post / The Guardian / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / CBS News / CNN / NBC News
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🤔 Analysis: New York Times / Politico
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\n\n1/ Mueller: Trump “was not exculpated for the acts that he allegedly committed,� adding that Trump could potentially be indicted after he leaves office. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler asked Mueller if Trump was “correct� that the report “found that there was no obstruction and that it completely and totally exonerated him.� Mueller replied: “That is not what the report said.� Mueller confirmed that Trump had engaged in 10 instances of obstruction of justice, which Attorney General William Barr decided not to file charges for. Mueller also confirmed that Trump refused to sit for an interview. [Editor’s note: I had to look up what “exculpated� means, because I’m not a lawyer. You’re probably not a lawyer either, so here’s what...', '
1/ Trump sued the House Ways and Means Committee and the New York state officials to block his state tax returns from being turned over to the committee. In May, New York passed a bill that allowed the Ways and Means Committee chairman to obtainTrump’s state tax returns. The lawsuit seeks an injunction to would block the application of the new state law. (CNBC / Wall Street Journal / CNN)
\n\n- 📌 Day 900: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill allowing congressional committees to access Trump’s New York state tax returns. The bill requires state tax officials to release the state returns for any “specified and legitimate legislative purpose� on the request of the House Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee, or the Joint Committee on Taxation. Trump’s personal lawyer, Jay Sekulow, called the bill “more presidential harassment.� The House Ways and Means Committee has unsuccessfully tried to access six years of Trump’s personal and business tax returns. The House sued the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service last week to try to force them to release the returns. (New York Times / NBC News)
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\n2/ The Trump administration proposed ending food stamp benefits for 3.1 million people by tightening eligibility and automatic enrollment. The current rule allows residents in 43 states to be automatically eligible for food stamps through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) if they receive benefits from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The new rule would require people who receive TANF benefits to pass a review of their income and assets to determine whether they are eligible to receive food from SNAP. Removing 3.1 million people from SNAP would save the federal government about $2.5 billion a year. About 40 million low-income people received SNAP benefits in 2018. (Reuters / Bloomberg / CNN / Washington Post)
\n3/ Trump is on track to add another $1 trillion dollars to the national deficit this year after endorsing the two-year bipartisan budget deal that will raise spending limits by $320 billion and allow the government to keep borrowing money. Republicans say the deal will add too much to the debt while some Democrats are upset that Trump is not prevented from using money from military programs to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. (Politico / New York Times / Washington Post)
\n\n- 1/ The Trump administration plans to use a fast-track deportation process to bypass immigration judges in order to quickly deport undocumented immigrants who have illegally entered the U.S. within the past two years. Previously, the policy for “expedited removal� had been limited to migrants caught within 100 miles of the U.S. border who had been in the country for less than two weeks. The Department of Homeland Security defended the shift, saying the new plan will ease the backlogged immigration courts by allowing ICE to deport unauthorized immigrants without placing them in “timeconsuming removal proceedings.� Expedited removals will take effect immediately. (Washington Post / CBS News / New York Times)\n
\n- Trump wants to meet with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer “ASAP� to discuss conditions at the U.S.-Mexico border after Schumer took a tour of migrant detention facilities and called them “inhumane.� (Washington Post)
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\n2/ House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler said there is “very substantial evidence� in Robert Mueller’s report that Trump is “guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors.� House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff added that it was “clear� that the Justice Department feels bound by an Office of Legal Counsel opinion that prevents indicting a sitting president, alleging that Trump “is an essentially unindicted co-conspirator.� The House Judiciary Committee would be in charge of leading impeachment proceedings if the House decided to move forward with articles of impeachment. Mueller is scheduled to testify on July 24th in front of both the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees in back-to-back public hearings, where he will answer questions about the contents of his report and his 22-month-long investigation. (CNN / Politico / Washington Post)
\n3/ Trump doesn’t think Mueller should be allowed to testify before Congress about his ties to Russia and possible obstruction of justice. Trump tweeted that “Mueller should not be given another bite at the apple,� because “in the end it will be bad for him.� Trump also complained that the “phony Democrats� in Congress “have done nothing but waste time on this ridiculous Witch Hunt,� and again called for investigations into Hillary Clinton instead of himself and his campaign. (Washington Post / The Independent / Politico / CNN)
\n\n- Border protection officers detained three children, who are U.S. citizens, at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. The children had arrived in the U.S. after a trip to Mexico with a relative when they were detained. Customs and Border Protection confirmed that the three girls were detained because the adult they were traveling with was “deemed inadmissible.� The children were eventually released to their mother’s custody after an official from the Mexican consulate secured an agreement that their mother could come pick them up without being taken into custody herself. (Chicago Tribune)
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\n2/ The Trump administration is planning to update the naturalization test to become a U.S. citizen. Last year, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services naturalized more than 750,000 people and the average pass rate on the test was 90%. Since becoming president, Trump has cut the number of refugees admitted to the U.S., banned immigrants based on their nationality in a handful of majority-Muslim countries, made it more difficult to qualify for asylum, and proposed a visa system overhaul that would prioritize immigrants with advanced degrees, English-language skills and money. (Washington Post)
\n3/ The House Judiciary Committee asked Hope Hicks to clarify her congressional testimony after newly unsealed documents showed “apparent inconsistencies.� The documents reveal that Hicks spoke on the phone with Trump and Michael Cohen about Stormy Daniels and the Trump campaign’s attempt to stop Daniels from going public with the allegations about an affair with Trump. Hicks originally stated that she “had no knowledge of Stormy Daniels other than to say she was going to be mentioned in the story.� Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler said the new documents “raises substantial questions about the accuracy� of Hicks’ original statements. (CNN / NBC News / Politico / Vox)
\n\n- An attorney for Hope Hicks called reports that Hicks participated in discussions to pay Stormy Daniels “simply wrong.� Robert Trout said that “Hicks stands by her truthful testimony that she first became aware of this issue in early November 2016, as the result of press inquiries.� (Washington Post)
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\n4/ The House Intelli...', '
1/ The FBI believed that then-candidate Trump was closely involved in the plan to the hide hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, according to previously redacted federal search warrants made public following the conclusion of the probe into Michael Cohen’s campaign finance crimes. The documents describe a “series of calls, text messages, and emails� between Cohen, Trump, Hope Hicks, Keith Davidson – an attorney for Daniels – Dylan Howard – the National Enquirer editor – and David Pecker, an executive of the company that published the National Enquirer. It’s the first time that the authorities have identified Trump by name regarding his alleged involvement in the scheme. Authorities previously referred to Trump in court filings as “Individual 1.� Last August, Cohen admitted to making $280,000 in illegal payments through a shell company to buy the silence of Daniels and McDougal. In April 2018, Trump claimed that he didn’t know anything about the hush money payment to Daniels. (NBC News / The Guardian / Washington Post / Reuters / CNN / Daily Beast / Wall Street Journal)
\n\n- Federal prosecutors signaled that it’s unlikely they would file additional charges in the hush-money investigation, saying they had “effectively concluded� their inquiry. (New York Times)
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\n2/ Trump continued his racist call for a congresswoman to “go back� to Somalia during a campaign rally last night while the crowd chanted “send her back.� Rep. Ilhan Omar is a U.S. citizen and Somalian refugee, and is one of four congresswomen of color Trump attacked on Twitter over the weekend, telling them to “go back� to their countries. The other three were born in the United States. “If they don’t love it,� Trump told the crowd, “tell them to leave it.� Trump paused to allow the “send her back� chant and did nothing to discourage the crowd. The Equal Opportunity Employment Commission includes “Go back to where you came from� as one of its examples of potentially unlawful harassment based on national origin. Trump spent more time during the rally attacking Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, and Ayanna Pressley than he did discussing his 2020 presidential campaign. (Politico / NBC News / Reuters / BuzzFeed News / New York Times)
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House Democrats warned that Omar’s “life is in imminent dan...', '
1/ The House voted to hold Attorney General William Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in criminal contempt of Congress for failing to provide documents about the Trump administration’s efforts to add a question on citizenship to the 2020 census. Barr and Ross withheld documents that had been subpoenaed by the Oversight and Reform Committee as part of its probe into the origins of the citizenship question. The Trump administration claimed it needed the citizen question to enforce the Voting Rights Act. In May, however, evidence emerged that the question was intended to specifically give an electoral advantage to Republicans and whites. Ross also previously testified before Congress that he added the question “solely� at the request of the Justice Department. It later came out that he’d asked the department to make the request. While Barr and Ross face up to a year behind bars and a $100,000 fine, it’s unlikely the Justice Department will pursue the case, because Barr is the head of the Justice Department. (Washington Post / New York Times / NBC News / Wall Street Journal)
\n2/ The House voted to table a resolution to impeach Trump, put forth by Rep. Al Green, who used a procedural mechanism that required action within two days. Green previously forced two votes on advancing articles of impeachment against Trump in 2017 and 2018, when Republicans controlled the House. (NBC News / Politico / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal)
\n\n- READ: The full text of the House impeachment resolution against Trump. (NBC News)
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\n3/ Former Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa said his country was aware that WikiLeaks cofounder Julian Assange was interfering in the 2016 presidential election from inside Ecuador’s embassy in London. “WikiLeaks’ justification was that they were providing truthful information. Sure, but (it) was just about Hillary Clinton. Not about Trump. So, they were not saying all the truth. And not saying all the truth is called manipulation.� Surveillance reports describe how Assange transformed the embassy into a command center to release a series of damaging disclosures intended to undermine Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election. The reports describe how Assange met with Russians and hackers, as well as computer hardware to facilitate data transfers from Russian operatives. “We did notice that he was interfering in the elections,� Correa said, “and we do not allow that because we have principles, very clear values, as we would not like anyone to interfere in our elections.� (Politico / NBC News / New York Times / CNN / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal)
\n2/ Trump – again – denied that his racist tweets were racist, urging House Republicans to “not show ‘weakness’� and reject the condemnation resolution. Trump called the resolution a “con game� and claimed that his tweets “were NOT Racist,� because “I don’t have a Racist bone in my body!� Trump then accused the four Democratic congresswomen – Ayanna Pressley, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar – of “spewing some of the most vile, hateful, and disgusting things ever said by a politician in the House or Senate.� (New York Times / Washington Post / The Guardian / Politico)
\n3/ Kellyanne Conway responded a White House reporter’s question about Trump’s racist tweets with “What’s your ethnicity?� Andrew Feinberg had asked Conway which countries Trump was referring to when he suggested that Ayanna Pressley, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar should “go back� to where they came from. All four congresswomen are U.S. citizens. (Daily Beast / NBC News)
\n\n- Kellyanne Conway’s husband wrote an opinion piece saying “Trump is a racist president.� (Wa...', '
1/ Trump told four liberal congresswomen of color to “go back� and “fix� their “broken and crime infested� countries. All four are American citizens and born in the United States, except for one, who became a refugee at age 10 when a civil war devastated Somalia. While he did not mention them by name, Trump’s tweets were directed at the members of the so-called “squad,� who were elected to Congress in 2018: Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and Ayanna Pressley. Republicans remained largely silent after Trump’s attack. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, meanwhile, called the tweets “xenophobic� and accused Trump of reaffirming his plan to make “America white again.� (New York Times / Associated Press / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / Yahoo News / CNN)
\n\n\n- Trump racists tweets, explained. (Vox)
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\n2/ Trump denied that his racist tweets were racist, insisting that “If you’re not happy here, then you can leave.� Earlier, Trump accused the four congresswomen of “spewing� “racist hatred� and that “many people� agree with his view that they “hate our country.� (CNN / The Guardian / BuzzFeed News / New York Times / Washington Post)
\n\n- Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he doesn’t believe Trump’s racist tweets were racist. “I understand what the President’s comment is,� Mnuchin said. “ I’m not concerned about the President’s comment.� (CNN)
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\n3/ The four congresswomen condemned Trump’s racist tweets, calling them “the agenda of white nationalists� and “a continuation of his racist and xenophobic playbook.� During a press conference, Rep. Pressley responded to Trump’s comments, saying: “Our squad is big. Our squad includes any person committed to building a more equitable and just world, and that is the work that we want to get back to and given the size of this squad and this great nation, we cannot, we will not be silenced.� Trump – again – attacked the four congresswomen in a series of tweets, saying, “IF YOU ARE NOT HAPPY HERE, YOU CAN LEAVE.� (CNN)
\n\n- Border Patrol agents at the U.S.-Mexico border are circulating unofficial commemorative coins mocking the task of caring for migrant children. On the front, the coin declares “KEEP THE CARAVANS COMING.� The coin’s reverse side features the Border Patrol logo and three illustrations: a Border Patrol agent bottle-feeding an infant; an agent fingerprinting a teen boy; and a U.S. Border Patrol van. The text reads: “FEEDING ** PROCESSING ** HOSPITAL ** TRANSPORT.� (ProPublica)
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\n2/ Robert Mueller’s Capitol Hill testimony will be delayed one week under a tentative arrangement with the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees. Mueller’s testimony was postponed to give lawmakers more time to question him about his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible obstruction of justice by Trump. Mueller was initially scheduled to appear on July 17 before both the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees in back-to-back sessions where 22 members from each committee would get to question the special counsel. Members of the Judiciary Committee, however, were concerned that two hours would be insufficient time to discuss the 10 areas of potential obstruction of justice by Trump identified in the Mueller report. (Politico / CNN / Washington Post)
\n3/ Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta will resign amid controversy about a plea deal he brokered for sex offender Jeffrey Epstein while serving as a U.S. attorney in Florida more than a decade ago. Trump called Acosta “a great Labor secretary not a good one� and “a tremendous talent.� Epstein was arrested over the weekend and charged in the Southern District of New York with sex trafficking dozens of girls. (New York Times / NBC News / Politico / CNBC)
\n4/ California lawmakers passed legislation mandating all presidential and state gubernatorial candidates release their tax information in order to appear on th...', '
1/ The Trump administration is scheduled to begin coordinated raids to arrest at least 2,000 immigrants who have been ordered deported. The raids – scheduled to begin on Sunday after initially being postponed in part to resistance at Immigration and Customs Enforcement – will be conducted by ICE agents over multiple days. The raids are expected to include “collateral� deportations, where ICE agents might detain any immigrants present when the raid occurs. Agents have expressed unease about arresting babies and young children, noting that the raids could have limited success since word has already spread among immigrant communities about how to avoid arrest. (New York Times / Wall Street Journal / CNN / Associated Press)
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📌Day 886: Trump delayed planned nationwide ICE raids for two weeks to see if Congress can “work out a solution.� Immigration agents had planned to sweep and deport people living the U.S. illegally in 10 major cities beginning Sunday. Hours after defending the plan, Trump delayed the raids on Saturday. Earlier in the week, Trump threatened to arrest and deport “millions of illegal aliens� next week. ICE leaders expressed concerns that officers’ safety would be in jeopardy because too many details about the raids had been made public. (Associated Press / New York Times / CNN / Politico / ABC News)
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📌 Day 894: Trump threatened to increase ICE raids and deportations of undocumented immigrants after the Fourth of July holiday, saying “they’re going to be gone, they’re going back to their countries. They go back home.� Trump praised the Mexican government for taking steps to curb the flow of migrants reaching the U.S. border, claiming, “It was because of tariffs that they’re doing it, but the point is they’re doing a great job.� Trump then reiterated his threat to deport all undocumented immigrants, “because that’s what we do.� Trump delayed planned nationwide ICE raids last month for two weeks to see if Congress can “work out a solution.� (NBC News)
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The House Oversight and Reform Committee requested business information from the companies managing detention centers at the southern border. The committee asked for an accounting of the hundreds of millions of dollars in government contracts the Trump administration gave out. (NBC News)
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\n2/ Trump will...', '
1/ Migrant children at an overcrowded detention facility in Arizona reported being sexually assaulted and retaliated against by agents for protesting, according to dozens of first-hand accounts collected by government case managers. An officer put his hands inside the bra of a 15-year-old from Honduras, pulled down her underwear and groped her as part of a “routine� pat down in front of other immigrants and officers. Guards removed sleeping mats from the cells of children who complained about the taste of the water and food. The reports also describes unsanitary and overcrowded conditions similar to detention facilities in Texas. (NBC News)
\n2/ Immigration and Customs Enforcement started using three new for-profit immigration detention centers, despite instructions from Congress to reduce the number of people in detention. The agency is now detaining migrants at a Mississippi prison operated by CoreCivic, a jail run by LaSalle Corrections, and the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center, run by GEO Group in Basile. A spokesman for ICE confirmed that all three facilities started housing immigrant detainees at the end of last month. (Mother Jones)
\n3/ A federal appeals court dismissed an emoluments lawsuit against Trump. The judges rejected the premise of the case that the Trump International Hotel – blocks from the White House – had violated the domestic and foreign emoluments clauses of the Constitution by accepting money from state and foreign governments at Trump’s hotel in downtown Washington. While Trump stepped back from day-to-day management of the businesses, he still maintains ownership. “Even if government officials were patronizing the hotel to curry the president’s favor,� the court said, “there is no reason to conclude that they would cease doing so were the president enjoined from receiving income from the hotel. After all, the hotel would still be publicly associated with the president, would still bear his name, and would still financially benefit members of his family.� All three judges on the panel were appointed by Republican presidents. (NPR / New York Times / Washington Post / NBC News / CNBC)
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📌 Day 887: A federal judge ruled that the Democrats’ emoluments lawsuit against Trump can proceed. District Judge Emmet Sullivan said discovery could begin Friday, and Democrats are expected seek financial information, interviews and other records from Trump and the Trump Organization. The Trump administration can still try to delay or block Democrats from issuing subpoenas by appealing directly to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to intervene. (Washington Post)
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📌 Bloomberg / Washington Post)
\n\n- 📌 Day 900: Trump is “very seriously� considering an executive order to get the citizenship question on the 2020 census despite statements last week from both his Department of Justice and his secretary of commerce that the administration was printing the census without the question. The Justice Department also assigned a new team of attorneys to defend Trump’s attempts to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census following the Supreme Court’s ruling that effectively blocked the question. A statement released by the DOJ gave no clear reason for the change to the legal team, but experts say the team is likely to face questions on multiple fronts after the Trump administration spent the last 15 months giving conflicting explanations about why the question should be added. Trump also recently ordered officials to keep pursuing the addition of the question, even if it means delaying the constitutionally mandated decennial survey. (New York Times / Politico / Washington Post / CNN / ABC News / Axios)
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\n2/ House Democrats plan to move forward with criminal contempt proceedings against Attorney General William Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross for defying congressional subpoenas related to the addition of a citizenship question on the 2020 Census. The move is a largely symbolic one, unlikely to lead to many tangible consequences. The DOJ will most likely refuse to charge Barr or any other cabinet secretary with a crime, and has even urged officials not to comply with the House Oversight and Reform Committee’s subpoenas. (Politico)
\n3/ Democrats in Congress called on Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta to resign over a controversial plea deal he brokered as a U.S. attorney that gave a lenient sentence to Jeffrey Epstein, who served 13 months for sexually abusing dozens of young women and underage girls. Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer said Acosta “must step down� because “he engaged in an unconscionable agreement� with Epstein that was “known� by Trump at the time. Acosta defended his 2007 decision, tweeting that he supports the “horrific� new charges a...', '
1/ New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill allowing congressional committees to access Trump’s New York state tax returns. The bill requires state tax officials to release the state returns for any “specified and legitimate legislative purpose� on the request of the House Ways and Means Committee, the Senate Finance Committee, or the Joint Committee on Taxation. Trump’s personal lawyer, Jay Sekulow, called the bill “more presidential harassment.� The House Ways and Means Committee has unsuccessfully tried to access six years of Trump’s personal and business tax returns. The House sued the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service last week to try to force them to release the returns. (New York Times / NBC News)
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📌 Day 894: House Democrats sued for Trump’s tax returns, challenging the administration’s refusal to comply with a subpoena for the records. The Ways and Means Committee accused the Trump administration of “an extraordinary attack on the authority of Congress to obtain information needed to conduct oversight,� naming the Treasury Department, IRS, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig in the suit. The Trump administration has argued that Congress’s power to access the returns is limited to information that would serve “legitimate� legislative purposes. (Politico / Washington Post / New York Times / NBC News / ABC News)
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📌 Day 809: New York lawmakers will introduce a bill this week to permit the Department of Taxation and Finance to release state tax returns requested by a congressional committee. Under the new proposal, the release of tax information would only happen after efforts to obtain federal tax information through the Treasury Department had failed. The move comes as the Trump administration has signaled that it will resist the House Ways and Means Committee request to turn over six years of Trump’s federal business and personal tax returns by April 10th. Mick Mulvaney, meanwhile, promised that Democrats will “never� see Trump’s tax returns. (New York Times / Washington Post / CNN / Politico)
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📌 Day 804: House Democrats formally requested six years of Trump’s personal and business tax returns from the IRS. In a letter to the IRS, the...', '
1/ A report from the Department of Homeland Security’s independent watchdog found the squalid conditions at migrant detention camps were more widespread than initially revealed. The report describes standing-room-only cells, children without access to showers or hot meals, and detainees desperately begging to be released. Inspectors visited five facilities in June, where they found many migrants are given only wet wipes to clean themselves and bologna sandwiches to eat, leading to additional health problems. Children at two of the camps were not given hot meals until inspectors arrived. Overcrowding was so severe that migrants were banging on cell walls and pressing notes up against the windows begging for help. (New York Times / Reuters)
\n2/ A federal judge blocked Attorney General William Barr’s order to indefinitely detain immigrants seeking asylum and deny them bail if they crossed into the U.S. border without permission. The order requires immigration judges to conduct hearings for asylum applicants to ask for release on bail within seven days if they have shown a “credible fear� of returning to their country of origin. (Bloomberg / New York Times)
\n3/ Trump claimed that he is “absolutely moving forward� with including the citizenship question on the 2020 census, contradicting both the Justice Department and the Commerce secretary, and calling the news reports “FAKE!� Yesterday, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the Census Bureau was in the process of printing the census form without the citizenship question following the Supreme Court’s decision to effectively block the question from being added to the questionnaire. (New York Times / CNBC / The Hill)
\n4/ The National Parks Service is diverting $2.5 million meant to improve parks in order to cover costs associated with Trump’s Fourth of July event on the National Mall. Trump officials have consistently refused to disclose how much taxpayers will have to pay for the “Salute to America� event. The diverted park fees make up just a fraction of the extra costs the government will have to pay as a result of the event, which will include tanks, military flyovers, Air Force One, and an extended pyrotechnics display. (Washington Post)
\n5/ Trump defended the cost of his “Salute to Americaâ€� event, saying it will be “very little compared to what it is worthâ€� because it will be “the show of a lifetime.â€� Military chiefs, meanwhile, are concerned about the politicization of the event –Â\xa0They’ve been asked to stand with Trump during the event. (Politico / Washington Post / Politico / Washington Post / New York Times / NBC News / ABC News)
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📌 Day 876: The Justice Department supported Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s refusal to turn over Trump’s tax returns to the House Ways and Means Committee. The Office of Legal Counsel released its legal rationale for refusing to provide Trump’s tax returns to Congress, saying the request was designed to make the returns public, which “is not a legitimate legislative purpose.� (Washington Post / Wall Street Journal)
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📌 Day 873: The House authorized committee chairs to sue the Trump administration in federal court to enforce a series of subpoenas. The House Judiciary Committee can now begin legal proceedings to enforce the panel’s subpoenas for Mueller’s evidence and force former White House Counsel Donald McGahn to cooperate with the panels’ probe into whether Trump obstructed justice. The move also empowers other committee chairmen to seek enforcement of their own subpoenas for testimony and documents, such as Trump’s tax returns. The measure, however, stopped short of a criminal contempt citation for Attorney General William Barr and McGahn. (Politico / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg)
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📌 Day 841: The House Ways and Mean Committee subpoenaed Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin over Trump’s tax returns. IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig was also subpoenaed. Chairman Richard Neal gave Mnuchin and Rettig until until May 17 to turn over six years of Trump’s returns, and is expected to go to court...', '
1/ A federal judge ordered Customs and Border Patrol to let health experts into detention facilities holding migrant children in order to assess the children’s needs and ensure the facilities are “safe and sanitary.� The order includes all CBP facilities in the El Paso and Rio Grande Valley sectors. U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee made the ruling despite requests from Attorney General William Barr and others that the court “set a schedule for briefing these issues that provides defendants with a full and fair opportunity to respond to the allegations that plaintiffs have lodged against them.� Last week, lawyers asked Judge Gee to hold the Trump administration in contempt and to order immediate improvements at the facilities. (CNN / The Hill)
\n\n- Roughly 9,500 current and former Border Patrol agents are part of a secret Facebook group that jokes about migrant deaths, discusses throwing burritos at Latino members of Congress, and posts illustration depicting Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez engaged in oral sex with a detained migrant, among other things. The group was created in August 2016 and is called “I’m 10-15� – the Border Patrol code for “aliens in custody.� (ProPublica)
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\n2/ Inspectors warned Homeland Security in May that conditions at an El Paso migrant detention facility were so bad that border agents were arming themselves against possible riots. According to a report by the Homeland Security Inspector General’s office, there were only four showers available for the 756 immigrants, more than half of the immigrants were being held outside, and there were five times as many people being held in cells beyond the maximum capacity allowed. One cell was so overcrowded that the men inside could not lie down to sleep, and temperatures in the cells were often higher than 80 degrees. “With limited access to showers and clean clothing,� the report said, “detainees were wearing soiled clothing for days or weeks.� Acting DHS Secretary Kevin McAleenan, meanwhile, claimed that reports of poor conditions at the facility were “unsubstantiated.� (NBC News)
\n3/ A federal judge blocked Trump from using $2.5 billion in military funding to build a wall at the southern border. The permanent injunction halts border wall construction at different sites in New Mexico, California, Arizona and Texas. Trump declared a national emergency earlier this year in order to divert roughly $6 billion in Defense Department funds toward border wall construction, arguing that the use of the military funds was lawful under the scope of the national emergency, because the need for funding was “unforeseen.� (NPR / The Hill / Mother Jones)
\n4/ A new study correlates Trump’s rise in popularity during the 2016 campaign with social media activity by the Russian trolls and bots of the Internet Research Agency. While the study does not prove that Russian interference swung the election, researchers at the University of Tennessee found that for every 25,000 re-tweets by accounts connected to the IR...', '
1/ The House passed a $4.6 billion emergency spending bill for the humanitarian crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border. The 305-to-102 vote sends the legislation, passed by the Senate earlier in the week, to Trump, who is expected to sign it. Speaker Nancy Pelosi tried to add additional protections for unaccompanied minors and restrictions on the administration’s use of funds to the bill, but was forced to accept the less restrictive Senate bill after the White House made clear it opposed the changes, and Mitch McConnell said he would not take them up. “We will reluctantly pass the Senate bill,� Pelosi said in a letter to Democratic lawmakers. (Washington Post / New York Times / Politico / Reuters)
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The Department of Homeland Security projects arrests along the Mexico border to fall 25% this month. Acting DHS Secretary Kevin McAleenan attributed the drop to Mexico cracking down on Central American migrants and the expansion of a program that requires asylum seekers to remain in Mexico for their immigration court hearings. (Washington Post / CNN)
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The acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement will shift roles to take over as acting chief of Customs and Border Protection. Mark Morgan previously served at the CBP as chief of Border Patrol, before being named acting head of ICE in May. (The Hill)
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\n2/ The Supreme Court will hear arguments over whether the Trump administration illegally tried to end DACA, which shields about 700,000 young, undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children from deportation and allows them to receive work permits. Trump tried to end the program in 2017, calling it an unconstitutional use of executive power by Obama. Lower courts have said the Trump administration’s explanation isn’t adequate. The Supreme Court will likely render its verdict next June, in the thick of the 2020 presidential campaign. (New York Times / CNN / Washington Post / CNBC / Bloomberg / ABC News / NBC News)
\n\n- 📌 CNN / NBC News / New York Times / NPR / Washington Post)\n
2/ The Supreme Court ruled that federal courts cannot block partisan gerrymandering in a 5-4 decision that fell along partisan lines. Chief Justice John Roberts rejected two constitutional challenges to partisan district mapmaking – one brought by Democrats in North Carolina and another by Republicans in Maryland – writing that “partisan gerrymandering claims present political questions beyond the reach of the federal courts.� Districts are drawn nationwide every 10 years, and the next redistricting is scheduled to take place following the 2020 census, which also triggers reapportionment of U.S. House seats among states. Because of the 2010 midterm elections, the Republican party controls most statehouses across the country and, by extension, jurisdiction over the redistricting process. Dissenting Justice Elena Kagan called the decision “tragically wrong.� (Washington Post / New York Times / NBC News / Politico / NPR / CNN / Bloomberg / USA Today / CNBC / Associated Press ...', '
1/ Robert Mueller agreed to testify before the House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees in back-to-back public hearings on July 17th about his investigation into Russia’s election interference and possible obstruction of justice by Trump. The announcement came after the two panels issued a subpoena compelling Mueller’s testimony. Mueller previously said he did not want to testify and his report should serve as his testimony. Members of Mueller’s team will also participate in a closed-door session with lawmakers. (NBC News / Washington Post / New York Times / Politico / ABC News / CNN)
\n2/ Trump attacked Mueller and – without evidence – accused him of committing a crime after House Democrats announced that Mueller would testify publicly next month. Trump claimed that Mueller “terminated� FBI communications by deleting text messages exchanged by two former FBI officials, Peter Strzok and Lisa Page. “And that’s illegal,� Trump tweeted. “That’s a crime.� Trump was referring to a report by the Justice Department inspector general that said it could not recover texts from the phones assigned to Strzok and Page, because by the time investigators requested the devices, they had been reset for other officials to use. Trump referred to Strzok and Page as “pathetic lovers� for having had an affair. (Washington Post / New York Times / Reuters)
\n3/ The House Oversight Committee authorized a subpoena for Kellyanne Conway after she failed to show for a hearing about her alleged violations of the Hatch Act, a law that limits federal employees’ political activity. Special counsel Henry Kerner said Conway should be fired for blatantly and repeatedly violating the Hatch Act. The White House, meanwhile, blocked Conway from testifying about the allegations. Chairman Elijah Cummings warned that the committee would vote to hold Conway in contempt if she ignores the subpoena. (Washington Post / New York Times / CNN / Reuters / Politico / Axios)
\n4/ The House approved a $4.5 billion aid package for the southwestern border. The 230-195 vote was mostly ...', '
1/ Trump – again – denied the rape allegations against him by E. Jean Carroll, claiming she is “totally lying� and “not my type.� Carroll accused Trump of pushing her up against a dressing room wall and raping her in a department store in 1995 or 1996. Trump accused Carroll of making up the story, because “I know nothing about this woman. I know nothing about her. She is — it’s just a terrible thing that people can make statements like that.� Carroll is the 16th woman to have publicly accused Trump of sexual assault or misconduct — all of which he has denied. (The Hill / New York Times / Washington Post / NBC News / Axios)
\n\n- 📌 Day 883: Trump rejected an allegation by journalist E. Jean Carroll that he sexually assaulted her in a Manhattan department store dressing room in the 1990s, saying that he has “never met this person in my life.� According to Carroll, she met Trump inside Bergdorf Goodman when he told her he was buying a gift for “a girl� and needed help. While in the lingerie section, Carroll said Trump suggested a lace bodysuit, and encouraged her to try it on. “The moment the dressing-room door is closed, he lunges at me, pushes me against the wall, hitting my head quite badly, and puts his mouth against my lips,� Carroll writes. “He seizes both my arms and pushes me up against the wall a second time, and, as I become aware of how large he is, he holds me against the wall with his shoulder and jams his hand under my coat dress and pulls down my tights.� More than a dozen women have accused Trump of sexual misconduct. Trump, meanwhile, said: “Shame on those who make up false stories of assault to try to get publicity for themselves, or sell a book, or carry out a political agenda.� (New York Magazine / Politico / Daily Beast)
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\n2/ The New York Post’s former top editor deleted a story about E. Jean Carroll’s rape allegations against Trump. Col Allan, a Trump supporter and top Rupert Murdoch lieutenant, ordered the story to be scrubbed from the website on Friday, as well a wire story by the Associated Press. Allan returned to the paper in early 2019, reportedly in an effort to make the paper even more friendly to Trump. (CNN / New York Daily News)
\n3/ Congress is trying to pass a $4.5 billion in emergency humanitarian aid t...', '
1/ Trump signed an executive order imposing new, “hard-hitting� sanctions on Iran in response to the downing of an unmanned U.S. drone last week. The new sanctions will deny Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and eight Iranian military commanders access to “key financial resources and support.� Trump also warned that U.S. “restraint� has limits. (New York Times / Washington Post / NBC News / Wall Street Journal / CNBC)
\n\n- Trump approved an offensive cyberstrike that disabled Iranian computer systems used to control rocket and missile launches. U.S. Cyber Command launched the cyberstrikes against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps last week. (Washington Post)
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\n2/ Trump delayed planned nationwide ICE raids for two weeks to see if Congress can “work out a solution.� Immigration agents had planned to sweep and deport people living the U.S. illegally in 10 major cities beginning Sunday. Hours after defending the plan, Trump delayed the raids on Saturday. Earlier in the week, Trump threatened to arrest and deport “millions of illegal aliens� next week. ICE leaders expressed concerns that officers’ safety would be in jeopardy because too many details about the raids had been made public. (Associated Press / New York Times / CNN / Politico / ABC News)
\n\n- The Trump administration moved most of the children from a remote Border Patrol station in Texas following reports that more than 300 children were detained there with inadequate food, water and sanitation. (Associated Press / New York Times)
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\n3/ The Trump administration stopped promoting dozens of taxpayer-funded studies about the impacts of climate change. The studies include a discovery that rice loses vitamins in a carbon-rich environment, a finding that climate change would exacerbate allergy seasons, and a warning to farmers about an expected reduction in the quality of important grasses used to feed and raise cattle. All of the studies were peer-reviewed and cleared through the Agricultural Research Service. (Politico)
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More than 70 medical and public health groups warned that climate change is “a health emergency.� The health organizations’ policy recommendations are at odds with Trump’s approach. (New York Times / New York Times / ABC News / NBC News / Wall Street Journal / Los Angeles Times / Bloomberg)
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Putin said he’s open for a meeting with Trump, but that a U.S. military conflict with Iran would be a “catastrophe.� Putin added that he believed Iran was complying with its commitments to the Iran nuclear deal. Hours later, Trump tweeted that he was in “no hurry� to confront Iran and called off the planned airstrike. (Associated Press / ABC News)
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The White House did not notify House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Trump’s plans to strike Iran. Pelosi is second in line to the presidency. (Washington Post)
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Fox & Friends called Trump’s decision to abandon airstrikes against Iran a “weakness, and weakness begets more attacks.� Hosts Brian Kilmeade insisted that “North Korea’s watching. Turkey’s watching. Russia’s watching. China…� (Daily Beast)
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Iran received a message from Trump via Oman warning that an attack on Iran was imminent. Iranian officials said Trump claimed he was “against any war with Iran and wanted to talk to Tehran about various issues.� They also said Trump “gave a short period of time to get our response but Iran’s immediate response was that it is up to Supreme Leader.� Another official said they would deliver Trump’s message to the Ayatollah, “however, we told the Omani official that any attack against Iran will have regional and international consequences.� (Reuters)
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\n2/ Trump directed ICE to conduct a mass roundup of migrant families that have received deportation orders. The Sunday raidsÂ\xa0–Â\xa0dubbed the “family opâ€� – will take place in as many as 10 cities and could target about 2,000 immigrants facing deportation orders. (ABC News / Associated Press / New York Times / Politico / The Guardian / NBC News / CNN / CNBC)
\n2/ The Senate voted to block the sale of $8.1 billion in munitions to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. In back-to-back votes, the Senate passed three measures to block Trump from using his emergency authority to complete the arms sales, but fell short of the support needed to overcome a pledged veto. Trump is expected to veto the Senate’s resolutions. (New York Times / Politico / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post)
\n3/ A federal appeals court ruled that the Trump administration’s family planning “gag rule� can immediately take effect nationwide. The ruling lifts national injunctions ordered by lower federal courts in Oregon and Washington state, as well as a statewide injunction in California, allowing the Trump administration to strip federal Title X funding from any clinic that provides abortions or abortion referrals. Planned Parenthood faces a cut of $60 million in Title X funds. (Washington Post / Politico)
\n4/ A watchdog group filed a complaint claiming Ivanka Trump violated the Hatch Act, which bars federal employees from engaging in elections in their official capacity. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington cited a tweet from Ivanka Trump two days before Trump’s 2020 campaign launch that included the campaign slogan “Make America Great Again� and stated “the best is yet to come.� (The Guardian / New York Times / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / CNN / Axios)
\n2/ Hope Hicks refused to answer questions during a closed-door hearing before the House Judiciary Committee as part of their ongoing investigation into whether Trump obstructed justice. While the White House did not formally assert executive privilege to block Hicks from answering questions, White House Counsel Pat Cipollone’s said Hicks was “absolutely immune� from discussing her tenure in the Trump administration. Hicks, however, is a private citizen. Hicks also wouldn’t answer questions as basic as where she sat in the West Wing or whether she told the truth to Mueller. Meanwhile on Twitter, Trump accused Democrats of putting Hicks “through hell� and seeking a “Do Over� of the Mueller investigation. The Judiciary Committee said it will release a full transcript of the interview within 48 hours. (Politico / Washington Post / New York Times / NBC News / Daily Beast /CNN)
\n\n- Earlier Today: House Democrats will question former White House communications director Hope Hicks during a closed-door session of the Judiciary Committee. Lawmakers intend to ask Hicks about five specific incidents of possible obstruction of justice outlined in the Mueller report. White House counsel Pat Cipollone claimed in a letter that Hicks is “absolutely immune� from answering any questions about her time working for the White House and for the Trump transition team. The committee also plans to ask Hicks about the hush money payments that Trump made to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal. (Politico / Washington Post / Politico / ABC News / CNN / NPR / Reuters)\n
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📌 Day 868: Mexico proposed sending about 6,000 National Guard troops to the country’s border with Guatemala to help stem migration as part of a deal to avoid Trump’s tariffs. Mexico and Guatemala also agreed to consider significant changes in asylum laws in the region, allowing the U.S. to reject requests for protection from many people fleeing persecution. The arrangement being discussed would require migrants to seek asylum in the first safe country they enter. Trump threatened to charge a 5% tariff on all Mexican goods starting Monday unless the country reduces the flow of migrants streaming to the U.S. border. The U.S., however, is considering delaying the tariffs as talks continue and Mexican negotiators have made clear that they will pull their offers if Trump imposes the tariffs. (Washington Post / New York Times / Bloomberg / Politico)
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📌 Day 872: Trump backed off his threat to impose tariffs on all Mexican goods, tweeting that the U.S. reached an agreement with Mexico to reduce the number of migrants at the southern border. According to a joint statement, Mexico agreed to “take unprecedented steps to increase enforcement to curb irregular migration,� including the deployment of thousands of national guard troops to its border with Guatemala to stop migrants from reaching the U.S. Mexico also agreed to an expansion of a Trump administration program to host more migrants seeking asylum while their court proceedings are in progress in the U.S. (New York Times / New York Times / NBC News / CNN / USA Today)
\n2/ U.S. Cyber Command hacked and deployed malware inside Russia’s power grid that could be used for surveillance or attack –Â\xa0without Trump’s knowledge. Pentagon and intelligence officials reportedly did not brief Trump due to concerns that he might countermand it or discuss it with foreign officials. The actions were taken under a new set of legal authorities granted to U.S. Cyber Command by Congress last year, which allows the routine use of “clandestine military activityâ€� in cyberspace without requiring presidential approval in order to “deter, safeguard or defend against attacks or malicious cyberactivities against the United States.â€� Officials at the National Security Council declined to comment about how deep into the Russian grid the U.S. had accessed, but said they had no national security concerns about the details of reporting about the targeting of the Russian grid. (New York Times)
\n\n- 📌 Day 571: Trump signed defense legislation named after John McCain but didn’t mention the Senator’s name during the ceremony. Trump praised the U.S. military and took credit for the $716 billion defense bill, which represents a $16 billion increase in authorized funding for the Pentagon over the current year. The bill is formally named the “John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act For Fiscal Year 2019.� (Bloomberg / Washington Post)
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\n3/ Trump accused The New York Times of committing a “virtual act of treason� for reporting that the U.S. had increased its cyberattacks on Russia, which were meant to deter future cyber activity by Moscow. In a separate tweet, Trump claimed that the story was “NOT TRUE!� and characterized the journalists as “true cowards.� The New York Times responded to Trump’s tweet, calling the accusation “dangerous� and noting that the paper reached out to the administration for comment on the story, but Trump’s own officials said they had “no concerns� about the story. (Associated Press / NBC News / The Hill)<...', '
1/ Trump backtracked on his willingness to accept help from foreign governments, saying “of course� he would “absolutely� report an encounter to the FBI. Trump, however, added that he’d alert the FBI only after reviewing the material first, “because if you don’t look at it, you won’t know it’s bad.� (New York Times / Politico)
\n\n- 📌 Day 875: Trump admitted that he’d “want to hear� from foreign governments with damaging information about his political opponents. Trump claimed “there isn’t anything wrong with listening� to a foreign government if they contacted him and said “we have information on your opponent.� Trump also rejected the notion that accepting damaging information from a foreign government would constitute election interference, saying “It’s not an interference, they have information – I think I’d take it.� FBI Director Christopher Wray during congressional testimony last month told lawmakers that “the FBI would want to know about� any foreign election meddling. Trump, however, said he might alert the FBI “if I thought there was something wrong,� but then said “The FBI director is wrong, because frankly it doesn’t happen like that in life.� (ABC News / Associated Press / NBC News / New York Times / Bloomberg)
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\n2/ Mitch McConnell downplayed Trump’s willingness to accept foreign dirt on political opponents and not report it to the FBI in 2020. McConnell said Democrats keep bringing up the 2016 presidential election because they “can’t let it go,� and accused Democrats of trying to “harass� Trump. Lindsey Graham, meanwhile, said taking help from foreign agents would be “probably not a good idea.� John Cornyn added: “I’d rather just have Americans participate in American elections.� (Politico / CNN)
\n3/ Senate Republicans blocked a bill requiring campaigns to tell the FBI about any offers of foreign assistance they receive. Marsha Blackburn called the legislation’s reporting requirements “overbroad,� and complained that it would require campaigns to worry about disclosures at “so many different levels.� Mark Warner said Blackburn’s assessment of the bill was “not accurate,� and “The only thing that would have to be reported is if the agent of a foreign government or national offered that something that was already prohibited.� (Axios)
\n4/ The head of the Federal Election Commission reiterated that foreign assistance is illegal in U.S. elections. “I would not have thought that I needed to say this,� Ellen Weintraub tweeted. “Let me make something 100 percent clear to the American public and anyone running for public office: It is illegal for any person to solicit, accept, or receive anything of value from a foreign national in connection with a U...', '
1/ Trump admitted that he’d “want to hear� from foreign governments with damaging information about his political opponents. Trump claimed “there isn’t anything wrong with listening� to a foreign government if they contacted him and said “we have information on your opponent.� Trump also rejected the notion that accepting damaging information from a foreign government would constitute election interference, saying “It’s not an interference, they have information – I think I’d take it.� FBI Director Christopher Wray during congressional testimony last month told lawmakers that “the FBI would want to know about� any foreign election meddling. Trump, however, said he might alert the FBI “if I thought there was something wrong,� but then said “The FBI director is wrong, because frankly it doesn’t happen like that in life.� (ABC News / Associated Press / NBC News / New York Times / Bloomberg)
\n\n- Putin: Relations between Moscow and Washington “are going downhill, they are getting worse and worse.� (Reuters)
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\n2/ Nancy Pelosi: “Everybody in the country should be totally appalled� by Trump’s comments and that he “gave us evidence once again he does not know right from wrong.� Pelosi added that Trump is giving Russia “the green light� to again interfere in the presidential election. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, meanwhile, called Trump’s remarks “disgraceful� and “shocking,� saying that “it’s as if the president had learned absolutely nothing in the past two years� from Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. (Washington Post / Associated Press / ABC News / CNBC / CNN / Wall Street Journal)
\n\n- More than a dozen 2020 Democratic presidential candidates rebuked Trump after he admitted he would consider taking information on his political opponents from a foreign government. Many renewed calls for impeachment while also voicing new concerns about the security of American elections. (Washington Post)
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\n3/ Trump tried to defend and recast his comments about accepting information about his rivals from foreign governments, tweeting that he talks to foreign leaders every day and asking: “Should I immediately call the FBI about these calls and meetings? How ridiculous!� Trump then argued that his comments were taken out of...', '
1/ Trump asserted executive privilege over subpoenaed documents about the administration’s decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census. The move, on the advice of the Justice Department, was meant to undercut a vote later in the day by the House Oversight Committee to hold Attorney General William Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in contempt for refusing to turn over the materials. Hours later the committee voted 24-15 to advance the contempt measures against Barr and Ross. The full House will need to hold a floor vote in order to to file a lawsuit to enforce the committee’s subpoenas. (Washington Post / NBC News / Politico / New York Times / Axios / Associated Press / Wall Street Journal)
\n2/ Trump Jr. said he’s “not at all worried� about perjury charges over suspicions he previously lied to Congress. “There was nothing to change,� Trump Jr. said following his closed-door meeting with the Senate Intelligence Committee today. In February, Michael Cohen testified that he briefed Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump about negotiations regarding the Trump Tower Moscow project. Cohen also told Congress that he believed he heard Trump Jr. talking with his father about the Trump Tower meeting between him, Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort, and a Russian lawyer promising damaging information on Hillary Clinton. (CNN / Washington Post / Politico / Talking Points Memo)
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Michael Flynn’s new attorney is one of the earliest and fiercest critics of the Justice Department and the FBI’s investigation into a potential conspiracy between Trump’s campaign and Russia. Sidney Powell, a former Justice Department attorney, claimed that Flynn was spied on as part of a “set-up� by the FBI and that his case should be “dismissed.� Flynn pleaded guilty last year to lying to the FBI and agreed to cooperate with Mueller’s investigation. (The Hill / Politico / CNN)
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The House Intelligence Committee chairman threatened to subpoena FBI Director Christopher Wray for information related to the counterintelligence investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Adam Schiff said he has been unable to get information on the status or findings of the counterintelligence probe. (Daily Beast)
\n\n- 📌 Day 872: The Justice Department agreed to provide Congress with “key evidence� collected by Robert Mueller related to obstruction of justice and abuse of power by Trump. House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler said “Mueller’s most important files� will be available to all committee members, allowing “us to perform our constitutional duties and decide how to respond to the allegations laid out against the President by the Special Counsel.� The House Judiciary Committee, however, moved no closer to securing testimony from Mueller or other figures, such as former White House counsel Donald McGahn, who has declined to testify, citing Trump administration lawyers. (New York Times / CNN / Washington Post)
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\n2/ The House authorized committee chairs to sue the Trump administration in federal court to enforce a series of subpoenas. The House Judiciary Committee can now begin legal proceedings to enforce the panel’s subpoenas for Mueller’s evidence and force former White House Counsel Donald McGahn to cooperate with the panels’ probe into whether Trump obstructed justice. The move also empowers other committee chairmen to seek enforcement of their own subpoenas for testimony and documents, such as Trump’s tax returns. The measure, however, stopped short of a criminal contempt citation for Attorney General William Barr and McGahn. (Politico / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg)
\n\n- The Justice Department advised Trump to invoke executive privilege to block House Democrats’ access to documents about efforts to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census. Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd threatened the blanket assertion of privilege if the House Oversight and Reform Committee proceeds with a scheduled vote on Wednesday to hold Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in contempt of Congress. (Politico)
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\n3/ Trump Jr. will be interviewed by Senate Intelligence Committee behind closed doors on Wednesday. The Republican-led committee subpoenaed Trump Jr. last month, angering Trump and his allies. Trump Jr. will testify for two-to-four hours on a half dozen topics, including the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting and the Trump Tower Moscow project. (CNN)
\n...', '1/ The Justice Department agreed to provide Congress with “key evidence� collected by Robert Mueller related to obstruction of justice and abuse of power by Trump. House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler said “Mueller’s most important files� will be available to all committee members, allowing “us to perform our constitutional duties and decide how to respond to the allegations laid out against the President by the Special Counsel.� The House Judiciary Committee, however, moved no closer to securing testimony from Mueller or other figures, such as former White House counsel Donald McGahn, who has declined to testify, citing Trump administration lawyers. (New York Times / CNN / Washington Post)
\n2/ Jerry Nadler agreed to delay a vote to hold Barr and McGahn in contempt of Congress after reaching the deal with the Department of Justice for evidence from the Mueller report. The House will still proceed with a vote to authorize the House Judiciary Committee to take Barr to federal court to fully enforce its subpoena, but will not formally vote to hold Barr in contempt. “If the Department proceeds in good faith and we are able to obtain everything that we need, then there will be no need to take further steps,� Nadler said. “If important information is held back, then we will have no choice but to enforce our subpoena in court and consider other remedies.� (ABC News / NBC News / NPR)
\n3/ Trump backed off his threat to impose tariffs on all Mexican goods, tweeting that the U.S. reached an agreement with Mexico to reduce the number of migrants at the southern border. According to a joint statement, Mexico agreed to “take unprecedented steps to increase enforcement to curb irregular migration,� including the deployment of thousands of national guard troops to its border with Guatemala to stop migrants from reaching the U.S. Mexico also agreed to an expansion of a Trump administration program to host more migrants seeking asylum while their court proceedings are in progress in the U.S. (New York Times / Washington Post)
\n\n- READ: The United States-Mexico Joint Declaration released by the State Department. (New York Times)
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\n4/ Mexico had already agreed to deploy its National Guard several months ago. The Mexican government agreed to the “deployment of its National Guard throughout Mexico, giving priority to its southern border� during secret talks with Kirstjen Nielsen back in March. And, the agreement to host asylum seekers in Mexico while their cases proceed in the U.S. was reached in December. Trump, however, tweeted on Saturday that he was “very excited about the new deal with Mexico.� (Politico)
\n2/ Elijah Cummings indicated that he plans to move forward with contempt votes for Attorney General William Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in response to the Justice and Commerce departments’ refusal to turn over documents. “We gave Attorney General Barr and Secretary Ross every opportunity to produce the documents the Committee needs for our investigation,� Cummings said in a statement, “but rather than cooperate, they have decided that they would rather be held in contempt of Congress.� The panel is scheduled to vote next week to hold Barr and Ross in contempt of Congress, the same week the House will vote to hold Barr in contempt for failing to provide the full, unredacted Mueller report and underlying evidence to Congress. (The Hill)
\n3/ The world’s largest automakers warned Trump that his plan to weaken tailpipe pollution standards is a threat to their profits and will produce “untenable� instability in the manufacturing sector. In a letter signed by 17 companies including Ford, General Motors, Toyota, and Volvo, the companies urged Trump not to roll back the policy. Trump’s new rule would all but eliminate the Obama-era auto pollution regulations and effectively freeze miles-per-gallon standards at 37 mpg for cars, instead of the original goal of reaching 54.5 mpg by 2025. The automakers warned Trump that “an extended period of litigation and instability� would follow if his plans are implemented. (New York Times / NPR)
\n4/ Government prosecutors released the audio recording of a 2017 voicemail from Trump’s then-personal lawyer asking Michael Flynn’s attorney for “some kind of heads up� about his cooperation with investigators. Mueller’s team has described John Dowd’s call to Rob Kelner as a “potential� effort to hinder the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. The transcript of Dowd’s call with Kelner was included in the Mueller report, but the audio remained secret until Thursday. Prosecutors turned it over after an order from a federal judge, who is weighing how to sentence Flynn for making false statements to FBI agents about his contacts with the Russian ambassador to the United States. (ABC News / New York Times)
\n\n- Russia tried to set up a video teleconference between Trump and Putin on the day after Trump’s inauguration. While the U.S. and Russian officials have never confirmed that a conversation took place on Jan. 21, 2017, the White House, however, provided a readout of a “congratulatory call� from Putin that happened on Jan. 28th. The call lasted about one hour and the two discussed Syria and fighting Is...', '
1/ Mexico proposed sending about 6,000 National Guard troops to the country’s border with Guatemala to help stem migration as part of a deal to avoid Trump’s tariffs. Mexico and Guatemala also agreed to consider significant changes in asylum laws in the region, allowing the U.S. to reject requests for protection from many people fleeing persecution. The arrangement being discussed would require migrants to seek asylum in the first safe country they enter. Trump threatened to charge a 5% tariff on all Mexican goods starting Monday unless the country reduces the flow of migrants streaming to the U.S. border. The U.S., however, is considering delaying the tariffs as talks continue and Mexican negotiators have made clear that they will pull their offers if Trump imposes the tariffs. (Washington Post / New York Times / Bloomberg / Politico)
\n\n- Earlier in the day, Trump declared that “not nearly enough� progress has been made in the negotiations with Mexico. Trump warned that “if no agreement is reached, Tariffs at the 5% level will begin on Monday, with monthly increases as per schedule.� Trump indicated that he won’t be satisfied with anything less than direct evidence that Mexico has completely stopped the flow of migration through its country. (New York Times / Politico)
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\n2/ Trump threatened to impose tariffs on “at least� another $300 billion worth of Chinese goods, but said he thinks China and Mexico both want to make deals. “Our talks with China, a lot of interesting things are happening,� Trump told reporters. “We’ll see what happens… I could go up another at least $300 billion and I’ll do that at the right time.� No face-to-face meetings between Trump and Chinese officials have been held since May 10, when Trump announced a 25% increase in tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods. (Reuters)
\n3/ The military will spend a month painting a mile-long section of the U.S.-Mexico border wall to improve its “aesthetic appearance.� An unspecific number of service members were instructed to paint barriers in the California border town of Calexico for a total of 30 days. Sen. Dick Durbin called the task a “disgraceful misuse� of taxpayer money. (CBS News)
\n4/ Nancy Pelosi told senior Democrats she’d like to see Trump “in prison� while discussing with Rep. Jerry Nadler whether to launch impeachment proceedings against Trump. Nadler pressed Pelosi to start the proceedings, but Pelosi refused and said: “I don’t want to see him impeached. I want to see him in prison.� Pelosi said she prefers voters to remove Trump via the ballot box and then have him prosecuted for his crimes. Elizabeth Warren, meanwhile, said Trump “would be carried out in handcuffs� if he were anybody else. (Politico / Wash...', '
1/ Trump said he believes climate change “goes both ways,� claimed the U.S. has one of “the cleanest climates,� and blamed China, India, and Russia for polluting the environment. Trump’s comments came after a 90-minute meeting with Prince Charles on the subject. While Trump remains unconvinced that the climate is warming, he said he agrees with Charles that he wants the U.S. to have “good climate, as opposed to a disaster.� The United States is the world’s second-largest emitter of carbon dioxide emissions, which rose an estimated 3.4% in 2018. (BBC / The Guardian / Washington Post)
\n2/ Trump claimed that he is “making up� for not serving in the Vietnam War by proposing to increase the Pentagon’s budget to around $750 billion in 2020. Despite avoiding service through student deferments and a medical disqualification for bone spurs, Trump claimed he “would have not have minded that at all. I would have been honored� to serve. (Washington Post)
\n\n- Trump erroneously claimed that he reinstituted a ban on most transgender people from serving in the military because some of them take prescription medicine. Trump said that when “you’re in the military, you’re not allowed to take any drugs.� The military, however, doesn’t prohibit service members from taking prescription medicines. (Bloomberg / Washington Post)
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\n3/ A bipartisan group of senators will try to block the Trump administration’s use of emergency authority to sell arms to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Senators will try to force 22 votes aimed at rebuking the Trump administration’s May decision to invoke an emergency provision in the Arms Export Control Act in order to push through $8 billion worth of arms sales to the Saudis, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. Congress had been blocking the sale since last year. (Associated Press / Politico / USA Today / New York Times)
\n4/ The House passed the DREAM and Promise Act of 2019, which would give millions of young undocumented immigrants a pathway to citizenship. The measure passed with a vote of 327 to 187, and it now heads to the Senate, where it is unlikely to be considered. The White House has also threatened to veto the measure if it makes it to Trump’s desk. Seven Republicans voted in favor of the measure, and no Democrats voted against it. (CBS News / New York Times / CNN / Washington Post / CNBC / NBC News / Politico)
\n2/ The Justice Department agreed to reopen negotiations with the House Judiciary Committee for Robert Mueller’s full, unredacted report if the House removes its threat to hold Attorney General Bill Barr in contempt next week. In a letter to committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, the Department said it would only “resume negotiations� if the committee reversed its previous recommendation that Barr be held in contempt. The committee subpoenaed for Mueller’s report and the underlying material in April. When Barr didn’t comply, they held a committee contempt vote. (Talking Points Memo / Axios / Washington Post)
\n3/ Trump vowed to move forward with imposing tariffs on Mexican imports next week, warning Republican senators they would be “foolish� to try and stop him. Any vote to disapprove the tariffs would likely face a presidential veto. The 5% tariffs on all Mexican goods, rising to 25% over time, are intended to force Mexico to stop the Central American migrants from seeking entry into the U.S. (New York Times)
\n\n- Trump’s tariffs on China, Mexico, Europe and other governments would nullify the gains from his $1.5 trillion tax cut for low- and middle-income earners, according to two new analyses. (New York Times)
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\n4/ Republican senators warned Trump that they were prepared to block his effort to impose tariffs on Mexican imports. Senators told the White House and Justice Department there could be a disapproval vote if Trump moves forward and they may have enough support to override a veto. After a closed-door meeting with White House officials, Mitch McConnell told reporters that “there is not much support in my conference for tariffs, that’s for sure.� Republican senators are worried that the tariffs on all imported goods from Mexico will impact the economy and their home states. (wrote an op-ed prior to the visit, calling Trump “one of the most egregious examples of a growing global threat� and suggested that the state visit be rescinded because Trump’s views are “incompatible with British values.� After landing, Trump met with Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace and later tweeted that the trip was “going really well.� (New York Times / Washington Post / CNN / Politico / NBC News / The Guardian)
\n\n- Ahead of his three-day state visit, Trump suggested that the U.K. should “walk away� from Brexit talks if the European Union does not give it what it wants. Trump criticized the $50 billion bill the U.K. must pay as part of the Brexit deal, saying he “wouldn’t pay� it because “it’s a tremendous number.� Trump later called on the U.K. to throw off the “shackles� of EU and strike a free-trade deal with the U.S. (Vox / CNN / Bloomberg)
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\n2/ Trump called for a boycott of AT&T in order to force “big changesâ€� at CNN, which is owned by the telecommunications giant. Trump tweeted for AT&T “do somethingâ€� about CNN, because the network “is the primary source of news available from the U.S.â€� in the U.K. and – he claims –Â\xa0its coverage of his administration is “unfair.â€� (Axios / CNBC / Politico / Washington Post)
\n3/ The House Judiciary Committee announced a “series of hearingsâ€� related to Robert Mueller’s report, “Presidential Obstruction and Other Crimes.â€� The first hearing is scheduled for June 10th and will focus on Trump’s “most overt acts of obstructionâ€� with John Dean, a key figure in the Watergate scandal, as one of the witnesses. Mueller – for nowÂ\xa0–Â\xa0is not scheduled to appear. (New York Times / NBC News / Washington Post / New York Times / The Guardian / Reuters)
\n2/ Republicans warned Trump that imposing tariffs on all Mexican imports could upend the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement and undermine the economy. Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley called the move “a misuse of presidential tariff authority and contrary to congressional intent,� adding that implementing the tariffs would “seriously jeopardize passage� of the USMCA. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, meanwhile, blamed Congress for refusing to deal with problems at the border, saying if they “were stepping up and doing more the president wouldn’t have to continue to look for ways to stop this problem on his own.� (Politico / Washington Post)
\n\n- The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and business groups are considering suing the White House over Trump’s new tariffs on Mexico. The tariff threat was reportedly “hurried out the door� in order to appease Trump, who did not consult business groups or federal agencies in advance. A 5% tariff on imported goods from Mexico would result in a potential tax increase on American businesses and consumers by about $17 billion. That would eclipse $86 billion if the tariffs reach Trump’s cap of 25%. (CNBC / NBC News / U.S. Chamber of Commerce)
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\n3/ Trump’s Treasury secretary and top trade advisor both opposed the plan to impose tariffs on Mexico. Steve Mnuchin and Robert Lighthizer have stressed the importance of enacting USMCA, meant to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement, and argued that the tariffs could derail ratification of the deal in Congress. “Lighthizer is not happy,� an unnamed administration official said. The tariff strategy was spearheaded by White House adviser Stephen Miller, an immigration hawk, after Trump was “riled up� by conservative radio commentary about the recent surge in border crossings. (Wall...', '
1/ Trump tweeted that Russia helped “me to get elected� – his first acknowledgement that Russia worked to get him elected in 2016. Trump later retracted the statement, telling reporters that, “No, Russia did not help me get elected. […] I got me elected.� Trump has previously denied that Russia interfered in the election, rejecting the conclusions by American intelligence agencies and federal prosecutors that Russia worked to help him defeat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election campaign. (New York Times / Washington Post / Associated Press / The Guardian / CNN)
\n\n- 📌 Day 819: The Trump campaign “expected it would benefit� from information released by Russia, but “the investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.� The report continues: “The investigation established that the Russian government perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency and worked to secure that outcome.� Putin’s “preference was for candidate Trump to win.�
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\n2/ Trump attacked Robert Mueller, characterizing him as “totally conflicted� and “true never-Trumper,� suggesting that if the former special counsel had any evidence, he would have brought charges. Trump insisted that Mueller’s comments yesterday “essentially� said “‘You’re innocent.’ There was no crime, there was no charge because he had no information.� Trump also referred to a “business dispute� with Mueller, but didn’t elaborate. Bill O’Reilly, however, said Trump called him last night to complain that “Mueller didn’t like him because he turned him down to be the head of the FBI after he fired Comey� and that Trump once refused to refund his country club membership deposit. “Mueller wanted $15,000 back and Trump said no,� O’Reilly said. Mueller denied the incident. Trump went on to baselessly claim that Mueller “loves Comey,� and “whether it’s love or a deep like, he was conflicted.� (ABC News / NBC News / Mediate)
\n\n- 📌 Day 860: Robert Mueller declined to clear Trump of obstruction of justice and suggested that only Congress can “formally accuse a sitting president of wrongdoing� in his first public remarks about his two-year-long investigation of Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election. The special counsel noted that “charging the president with a crime was […] not an option we could consider,� because Justice Department policy prohibits the indictment of a sitting president. Mueller emphasized that if his office “had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so.� Mueller concluded his remarks by reiterating his report’s...', '
1/ Robert Mueller declined to clear Trump of obstruction of justice and suggested that only Congress can “formally accuse a sitting president of wrongdoing� in his first public remarks about his two-year-long investigation of Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election. The special counsel noted that “charging the president with a crime was […] not an option we could consider,� because Justice Department policy prohibits the indictment of a sitting president. Mueller emphasized that if his office “had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so.� Mueller concluded his remarks by reiterating his report’s conclusion that “There were multiple, systematic efforts to interfere in our election. And that allegation deserves the attention of every American.� (Washington Post / New York Times / ABC News / Associated Press / CNN / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / NPR)
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Read the transcript of Mueller’s statement. (NPR / Politico)
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What the Mueller report actually said: “The Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion,� Mueller wrote. This help “favored presidential candidate Donald J. Trump and disparaged presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.� The Trump campaign “expected it would benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts,� and it “welcomed� this help. Today, Mueller said “We chose those words carefully, and the work speaks for itself.� (The Atlantic)
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📌 Day 819: Attorney General William Barr repeatedly insisted that Robert Mueller “found no evidence� that the Trump campaign conspired with Russia to interfere in the 2016 presidential election and that Russian efforts to interfere “did not have the cooperation of President Trump or the Trump campaign.� Barr also claimed Mueller’s report did not find “collusion� between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. Further, Barr said that even if the Trump campaign had colluded with WikiLeaks, that was not a crime. Mueller identified “numerous� Trump campaign-Russia contacts, but the report says there was “insufficient evidence� to establish a criminal conspiracy between Trump or his campaign aides and their contacts with Russians. The report outlines how Trump was elected with Russia’s help and when a federal inquiry was started to investigate the effort, Trump took multiple steps to stop or ...', '
1/ Robert Mueller reportedly drafted a three-count obstruction of justice indictment against Trump before deciding to shelve it. In his new book, Siege: Trump Under Fire, Michael Wolff writes that his findings on the Mueller investigation are “based on internal documents given to me by sources close to the Office of the Special Counsel.� According to Wolff, the first count charged Trump with influencing, obstructing or impeding a pending proceeding before a department or agency of the U.S. The second count charged Trump with tampering with a witness, victim or informant, and the third count charged Trump with retaliating against a witness, victim or informant. While the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel says a sitting president cannot be indicted, Wolff obtained a draft memorandum by Mueller’s team opposing an expected motion to dismiss the indictment. The special counsel’s office denied the claim, saying “The documents that you’ve described do not exist.� (The Guardian / NBC News)
\n\n- Michael Flynn’s case could prompt the release of some redacted portions of the Mueller report this week. Judge Emmet Sullivan set a Friday deadline for the Justice Department to make unredacted parts of the report that pertain to Flynn public, as well as transcripts of Flynn’s calls with former Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, and of a voicemail during which someone connected to Trump referenced Flynn’s cooperation. (CNN)
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\n2/ A congressional Republican accused Attorney General Bill Barr of intentionally misrepresenting the Mueller report to further Trump’s “false narrative� about the investigation. In a 25-post tweetstorm, Rep. Justin Amash alleged that Barr’s March 24th letter summarizing Mueller’s principal conclusions “selectively quotes and summarizes points in Mueller’s report in misleading ways� and as a result “the public and Congress were misled.� (Politico / Washington Post / Axios)
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📌 Day 851: Michigan Rep. Justin Amash became the first Republican lawmaker to publicly conclude that Trump has committed “impeachable conduct� as president, and that Trump’s conduct meets the “threshold for impeachment.� In a Twitter thread, Amash said he believes “few members of Congress even read� Mueller’s final report, and said the report establishes “multiple examples� of Trump committing obstruction of justice. Amash also accused Attorney General William Barr of intentionally misleading the public. “Contrary to Barr’s portrayal,� Amash wrote, “Mueller’s report reveals that President Trump engaged in specific actions and a pattern of behavior that meet the threshold for impeachment.� (CNN / New York Times / Washington Post / NBC News / CNN)
\n2/ The Trump administration is preparing to bypass Congress to sell billions of dollars worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The munitions sales are currently on hold by Congress, but Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other political appointees in the White House are urging Trump to invoke an emergency provision that would allow him to prevent Congress from blocking the $7 billion sale of precision-guided missiles and combat aircraft to the Saudis and Emiratis. (New York Times / Washington Post / The Independent)
\n3/ Trump has personally and repeatedly urged the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to award a border wall contract to a specific construction firm in North Dakota run by a GOP donor and frequent Fox News guest. Trump has pushed for Fisher Industries to receive the multi-billion-dollar border wall contract on phone calls, at White House meetings, and during conversations on Air Force One, which has alarmed military commanders and DHS officials. The company’s CEO, Tommy Fisher, is a frequent guest on conservative talk shows and radio stations, and has courted Washington officials directly by arranging meetings at congressional offices and inviting officials to review border wall prototypes. (Washington Post)
\n4/ The Trump administration formally proposed revisions to Obama-era healthcare and civil rights protections for transgender people. The proposal would eliminate “gender identity� as one of the protected categories in healthcare decisions and push government policy toward only recognizing characteristics of sex at birth as the basis. The 2016 rule prevented discrimination in healthcare decisions on the basis of gender identity in “any health program or activity� that receives federal funding. (New York Times)
\n5/ The bipartisan $19.1 billion disaster relief package is being held up by one House Republican who voted to block the legislat...', '
1/ The Senate passed a $19.1 billion bipartisan disaster relief spending bill that does not include the $4.5 billion in funding for Trump’s border wall. After months of negotiation, the bill passed with a vote of 85-8 just a few hours after both sides reached an agreement. The bill provides roughly $900 million for Puerto Rico, and includes a provision that would require the Trump administration to release another $9 billion in aid, which had previously been withheld from the U.S. territory. The House will vote on the bill when it returns from recess and the bill will be sent to Trump’s desk. “I totally support it,� Trump said. (CNN / BuzzFeed News / Wall Street Journal / New York Times / NBC News)
\n\n- A federal district judge heard arguments in a lawsuit brought by the House of Representatives against Trump’s national emergency declaration. The suit argues that Trump’s national emergency declaration to fund the construction of his border wall is unconstitutional and violates the separation of power between the branches of government. During the nearly three-hour hearing Judge Trevor McFadden appeared skeptical about involving the judiciary in a dispute between the administration and Democrats in the House. (CNN)
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\n2/ Trump announced a $16 billion aid package for farmers hurt by his ongoing trade war with China. The bailout is the second deal aimed at limiting the losses of American farmers as a result of China’s retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods. Farmers will be able to apply for direct payments for crops that are impacted by the tariffs. The USDA will also buy surplus products like milk and meat to distribute to food banks around the U.S. and provide $14.5 billion in direct payments based on the estimated impact to each country. It will also spend $1.4 billion to purchase goods and another $100 million to develop other markets for U.S. goods. (Bloomberg / ABC News)
\n\n- China says trade talks with the U.S. won’t continue until the U.S. addresses its “wrong actions.� China’s Commerce Ministry didn’t mention any specific U.S. actions, but Ministry of Commerce spokesperson Gao Feng said that “if the U.S. would like to keep on negotiating it should, with sincerity, adjust its wrong actions. Only then can talks continue.� (CNBC)
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\n3/ A ten-year-old girl died in September 2018 while in the care of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. She was the first of six migrant children that have died while detained by U.S. authorities. Rep. Joaquin Castro accused the Trump administration of concealing the girl’s death from the public. “I have not seen any indication that the Trump administration disclosed the death of this young girl to the public or even to Congress,� Castro said. “And if that’s the case, they covered up her death for eight months, even though we were actively asking the qu...', '
1/ Nancy Pelosi said the Democratic leadership believes that Trump is “engaged in a cover-up� after meeting with congressional committee leaders. “We believe that the president of the United States is engaged in a cover-up,� Pelosi told reporters. “A cover-up. And that was the nature of the meeting.� Trump responded to Pelosi’s comments by storming out of an infrastructure meeting with senior Democrats after only three minutes, before heading to the Rose Garden to host a surprise press conference. “I don’t do cover-ups,� Trump said before declaring that he would refuse to work with Democrats until they stop investigating him. “I want to do infrastructure,� he continued. “I want to do it more than you want to do it. I’d be really good at that - that’s what I do. But you know what? You can’t do it under these circumstances. So get these phony investigations over with.� (New York Times / NBC News / Axios / Reuters / CNBC / ABC News)
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Analysis: The various cover-ups of Donald ‘I don’t do cover-ups’ Trump. “I don’t do cover-ups,� he said. “You people� — the media — “know that probably better than anybody.� (Washington Post)
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‘I pray for the president,’ Pelosi says after Trump cuts short infrastructure meeting, blasts Democrats. “In an orchestrated – almost to an ‘oh, poor baby’ point of view – he came into the room and said that I said that he was engaged in a cover-up and he couldn’t possibly engage in a conversation on infrastructure as long as we are investigating him,� Pelosi said. (Boston Globe / The Hill)
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Trump rails about impeachment, says Democrats are fishing. Trump claimed that his approval rating “would be at 65%� if there were no investigations. (NBC News)
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\n2/ The House Intelligence Committee reached a last-minute deal with the Justice Department over the redacted material in the Mueller report and announced that it will not enforce the subpoena against Attorney General William Barr. The DOJ agreed to turn over the material and the underlying information in Mueller’s report, but committee chairman Adam Schiff said the subpoena “will remain in effect and will be enforced should the Department fail to comply with the full document request.� Schiff said he expects the DOJ to finish turning over the 12 categories of counterintelligence and foreign intelligence material from Mueller’s report “by the end of next week.� In a letter sent to Schiff on Tuesday, Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd warned that “the Department will not likely be able to continue to work with the Committee to accommodate its interest in these materials� if the committee takes “the precipitous and unnecessary action of recommending a contempt find...', '
1/ Former White House counsel Don McGahn failed to appear at hearing in front of the House Judiciary Committee, following Trump’s instructions to ignore the congressional subpoena. “Our subpoenas are not optional,� Committee chair Jerry Nadler said after McGahn failed to show up. Nadler also warned that “one way or another,� the panel will hear from McGahn, even if that means holding McGahn in contempt of Congress for failing to appear. “This committee,� he said, “will have no choice but to enforce the subpoena against him.� (Associated Press)
\n2/ A federal judge ruled that Trump’s accounting firm must turn over his financial records to Congress. Judge Amit Mehta ruled that the accounting firm, Mazars, must comply with the subpoena issued by the House Oversight Committee. Trump had sued to quash the subpoena, arguing that Congress had no legitimate legislative reason to request the documents, but Judge Mehta said that they do. “It is simply not fathomable,� Mehta wrote, “that a Constitution that grants Congress the power to remove a President for reasons including criminal behavior would deny Congress the power to investigate him for unlawful conduct — past or present — even without formally opening an impeachment inquiry.� Trump has vowed to appeal Mehta’s ruling. (NPR / Washington Post / The Guardian / New York Times / CNN)
\n3/ Michael Cohen told lawmakers earlier this year that one of Trump’s personal attorneys told him to lie to Congress about the Trump Tower Moscow deal and suggested he might be pardoned if he helped “shut down� the Russia investigation. Cohen claimed that Jay Sekulow asked him to tell Congress that the Trump Tower Moscow negotiations ended on Jan. 31, 2016 — nearly six months before they actually ended — according to transcripts from Cohen’s two private interviews with lawmakers, which were released yesterday. Cohen also said Sekulow told him that Trump was considering pardons for Cohen and others who “shut down, you know, this investigation.� (Politico / Washington Post)
\n4/ ‘Fox & Friends’ host Pete Hegseth has been privately lobbying Trump for months to convince him to pardon convicted and accused war criminals. Hegseth has repeatedly lobbied Trump since as early as January and pressed him in multiple private conversations to support pardons for, among others, accused war criminal and former Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher. Gallagher will stand trial on May 28 for allegedly shooting civilians, including a school-aged girl, and knifing a captured ISIS fighter to death while the fighter was receiving medical treatment in 2007 at a facility in Iraq. (Daily Beast1/ Deutsche Bank staff identified multiple suspicious transactions made in 2016 and 2017 by legal entities controlled by Trump and Jared Kushner. A group of anti-money-laundering specialists at Deutsche Bank recommended that the bank report the transactions to a federal financial-crimes watchdog. But executives at the bank, from which Trump has borrowed billions of dollars, rejected the advice of their staff and chose not to file the reports with the government. The nature of the transactions in question is still unclear, but at least some of them involved money flowing back and forth between overseas entities or individuals, something the bank employees flagged as suspicious. Deutsche Bank has denied the report that its executives ignored the recommendations of its own anti-money-laundering specialists. (New York Times / Reuters / Reuters)
\n2/ Trump instructed former White House counsel Don McGahn to defy a congressional subpoena and skip a House Judiciary Committee hearing scheduled for Tuesday. The committee subpoenaed McGahn to appear to answer questions about Trump’s attempts to obstruct justice during the Russia investigation, but the White House presented McGahn with a 15-page legal opinion from the Justice Department that states, “Congress may not constitutionally compel the president’s senior advisers to testify about their official duties.� The current White House counsel sent a letter to the committee explaining that Trump instructed McGahn not to appear due to the “constitutional immunity� outlined in the DOJ legal opinion, “and in order to protect the prerogatives of the office of the presidency.� (New York Times / ABC News / Washington Post)
\n3/ Federal prosecutors in New York are examining tens of thousands of documents related to Trump’s inauguration. Prosecutors are moving on to the next stage of the investigation, now that Trump’s inaugural committee has finished handing over a cache of documents, records, and communications related to the financing, vendors, and donors for the inauguration. Authorities are investigating whether any of the record-setting $107 million in donations was misspent, was used to benefit particular individuals, or came from foreign donors in violation of campaign finance laws that prohibit foreign donations to U.S. campaigns. (CNN)
\n\n- One of the biggest backers of Trump’s push to protect American steel is a Canadian billionaire. Barry Zekelman, whose business is mostly in the United States, funded his own advertising campaign to build public support for his efforts to protect makers of steel tubes in the United States. And Zekelman Industries made political donations in the United States — skirting or possibly violating a ban on contributions by foreigners — including $1.75 million last year to a group supporting Trump. (New York Times)
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\n4/ Michigan Rep. Justin Amash became the first Republican lawmaker to publicly conclude that Trump ...', '
1/ Michael Flynn told Robert Mueller that people tied to Trump and a person “connected to� Congress tried to obstruct the Russia investigation. Flynn said he received communications from Trump associates that could have affected the ex-national security adviser’s “willingness to cooperate.� Flynn not only told investigators about these communications, but provided Mueller’s office with a voicemail of one instance. Flynn pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI in December 2017. (NBC News / CNN / CNBC / Axios) / Politico)
\n2/ A judge ordered public release of what Flynn said in call to the Russian ambassador. The order calls for a public transcript of the call by the former national security adviser that was a critical avenue in the Mueller probe. (Washington Post)
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Democrats want a review of Russian investments in Kentucky. A Russian aluminum company recently came out from under United States sanctions. Now it’s planning to invest $200 million in Kentucky, and maybe more in other states. (New York Times)
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Panhandle county that backed Trump among Russian hacking victims. Washington County was one two counties successfully hacked by Russians seeking voter information files. (Politico)
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Judge confirms Trump associate gave feds Osama bin Laden’s number. Felix Sater, who became an FBI informant after pleading guilty in a 1998 fraud scheme, later helped drive talks for a potential Trump Tower Moscow. (Politico)
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\n3/ Trump wants his border barrier to be painted black with spikes. He has other ideas, too. Pointed tops. Fewer gates. Resistance to climbing. Trump’s frequently changing design requests have frustrated Homeland Security officials and military engineers. (Washington Post)
\n4/ Trump’s pick for ICE director: I can tell which migrant children will become gang members by looking into their eyes. “I’ve looked at them and I’ve looked at their eyes, Tucker — and I’ve said that is a soon-to-be MS-13 gang member. It’s unequivocal.� (Politico)
\n5/ Trump delayed auto tariffs while pressing for a deal with Japan and Europe. Trump stepped back from opening another front in a global trade war by delaying tariffs on automobiles until later this year. (New York Times)
\n6/ Trump’s tariffs are equivalent to one...', '
1/ The U.S. military will build six tent cities near border for migrants. The tents will likely not be on military bases, and ICE — not the military — will be responsible for migrant detention and custodial support. (NBC News)
\n2/ Trump’s immigration plan will emphasizes immigrants’ skills over their family ties. The plan will significantly scale back family-based immigration and increase the educational and skills requirements to move to the United States. (New York Times / NPR)
\n3/ Trump, frustrated by advisers, is not convinced the time is right to attack Iran. “They are getting way out ahead of themselves, and Trump is annoyed,� one official said of aides pushing for aggressive action. (Washington Post)
\n\n- Trump told his Pentagon chief he does not want a war with Iran. Trump’s statement came during a briefing on the rising tensions with Tehran, and officials said he was firm in saying he did not want a military clash. (New York Times)
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\n4/ The Missouri Senate passed a bill to ban abortions at 8 weeks. Senators approved the legislation 24-10 and now needs at least one more vote of approval in the GOP-led House before it can go to Republican Gov. Mike Parson, who voiced support for the bill. (Associated Press)
\n\n- Alabama governor signs near-total abortion ban aimed squarely at Roe v. Wade, but the Supreme Court may prefer to chip away at abortion rights rather than overrule Roe outright. The new law is the most restrictive anti-abortion measure passed in the U.S. since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973. The controversial abortion bill could punish doctors who perform abortions with life in prison. (New York Times / CBS News) / CNN)
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\n5/ Trump moved to ban foreign telecom gear as part of an ongoing battle with China. American officials have long warned that they would stop sharing intelligence if allies installed Chinese technology on their 5G networks. (New York Times)
\n6/ Farmer who voted for Trump says he’ll “never vote for him again� as family is set to lose $150,000 in China trade war. “This is survival at this point. I mean, for a lot of operations it is a survival thing,� Iowa farmer Robert Ewoldt said. (Newsweek)
\n7/ Company owned by Brazilian crooks received $62 million in Trump bailout cash meant for struggling U.S. farmers. The Trump administration has forked over more than $62 million — taxpayer cash that was supposed to be earmarked for struggling American farmers — to a massive meatpacking company owned by a couple of… (NBC News / Washington Post)
\n\n- House Democrats are planning a marathon public reading of the Mueller report. The reading of all 448 pages of the redacted report, starting at noon Thursday, will take an estimated 12 to 14 hours. (Washington Post)
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\n2/ A federal judge grilled Trump’s legal team as Democrats fight for access to Trump’s financial records. Amit Mehta, a U.S. District Court judge in Washington, raised pointed doubts Tuesday about arguments by Trump’s legal team that a Democratic effort to subpoena Trump’s financial records was an invalid exercise of congressional power. An early court test for Trump’s vow to stonewall all subpoenas could be the start of a long fight over congressional oversight. (Politico / New York Times)
\n3/ All non-essential staff are being evacuated from the U.S. Embassy in Iraq as the U.S. continues to threaten Iran. The embassy says the State Department has ordered all non-essential, non-emergency government staff to leave the country right away amid escalating tensions with Tehran. (Associated Press)
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Skeptical U.S. allies are resisting Trump’s new claims of threats from Iran. The Trump administration is laying the groundwork for major military action against Iran, but it may have a hard time rallying domestic and international support. (New York Times)
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The German government has expressed concern about the tensions in the Middle East between the U.S. and Iran, warning of a military escalation and saying it supports all measures for a peaceful solution. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer said on Wednesday that, “obviously, we are watching the increasing tensions in the region with big concern and welcome any measure that is aimed at a peaceful solution.� (Associated Press)
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\n4/ Jared Kushner struggled to answer GOP senators’ questions on his immigration plan. In a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill, Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser tried to pitch his plan to overhaul legal immigration but failed to win over Republicans, according to GOP officials. (Washington Post)
\n5/ Gov. Ron DeSantis: Russians hacked voting databases in two Florida counties. The GOP governor said the incidents took place in 2016 and no election results were comprom...', '
1/ The White House reviewed military plans to attack Iran, in echoes of the Iraq War. The plans call for up to 120,000 American troops but not a land invasion of Iran. They were updated at the request of John Bolton, Trump’s national security adviser, who has been calling for the U.S. to go to war with Iran for nearly two decades. (New York Times)
\n2/ Attorney General William Barr instructed the U.S. Attorney in Connecticut to review the origins of the Russia investigation. The prosecutor has conducted other sensitive investigations into conduct by national security officials, including the C.I.A.’s torture of detainees. (New York Times)
\n3/ Global stocks fell in response to China’s retaliation against U.S. tariffs, stoking economic anxiety. Stocks around the world fell sharply on Monday as the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies showed little sign of ending soon. Signs of economic anxiety also appeared in other financial markets. (New York Times)
\n4/ The U.S. is preparing to slap tariffs on all remaining Chinese imports, which could add levies on roughly $300 billion in additional goods. Days after both countries raised hopes of a deal, Trump and Xi instead escalated their tariff war. (Washington Post)
\n\n- GOP’s farm belt Senators back Trump as China takes aim at U.S. agriculture. Republican lawmakers in the farm belt are standing with President Donald Trump in the wake of an escalating trade war with China, which retaliated on Monday with more tariffs on agricultural goods. (CNBC)
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\n5/ The House Intelligence Committee is investigating claims of obstruction of justice against Trump’s lawyers. The Committee has opened an inquiry into Michael Cohen’s claims that lawyers for Trump and his family helped shape false testimony. (New York Times)
\n6/ Trump Jr. struck a deal with the Senate Intelligence Committee to come to Capitol Hill in mid-June to answer the committee’s questions for 2–4 hours. The agreed-upon topics for questioning include the Trump Tower Moscow development, but no other details about the compromise are currently available. (Axios)
\n\n- Trump Jr.’s no-shows led to him being subpoenaed by the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the Committee’s Republican chairman Senator Richard Burr. Allies of Mr. Trump have mounted a campaign to quash the subpoena from the Committee, putting intense pressure on Burr. (New York Times)
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\n7/ Trump said he would agree not to use stolen material as part of his 2020 presidential campaign. Trump said he would stay away from information stolen by foreign adversaries in his re-election bid, his first public commitment to doing so. (NBC News)
\n8/ Trump praised Hungary’s authoritarian prime minister Victor Orbán and called him “highly respected.� “Probably like me a ...', '
1/ The White House asked Don McGahn to declare that Trump never obstructed justice. Two requests by presidential advisers show how far the White House has gone to try to push back on accusations that the president obstructed justice. McGahn initially entertained the request. “We did not perceive it as any kind of threat or something sinister,� McGahn’s attorney said in a statement. “It was a request, professionally and cordially made.� (New York Times)
\n2/ Leaked letters reveal the details of NRA Chief Wayne LaPierre’s alleged spending. National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre billed the group’s ad agency $39,000 for one day of shopping at a Beverly Hills clothing boutique, $18,300 for a car and driver in Europe, and had the agency cover $13,800 in rent for a summer intern, according to newly revealed NRA internal documents. (Wall Street Journal)
\n3/ The White House decried the investigations by House Democrats and complained that they are not following “rules and norms.� The White House on Sunday decried Democratic-led congressional investigations, saying Democrats are refusing to abide by “rules and norms� that govern oversight authority as they issue subpoenas for documents the Trump administration refuses to hand over. (CNN)
\n\n- Suddenly, conservative lawyers are condemning Trump for abuses of power. Prominent Republican lawyers are pushing back against Trump’s defiance of subpoenas and expansive claims of executive privilege and immunity from prosecution. (Los Angeles Times)
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\n4/ China is raising tariffs on $60 billion of U.S. goods starting on June 1. The move to impose steeper tariffs on U.S. goods comes in response to Trump’s decision to hike tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods. Trump’s trade approach is also under attack back in the U.S. as China readies retaliation and the markets prepare for a big sell-off. (CNBC / Washington Post)
\n\n- Trump disputes impact of tariffs on American consumers, but warns China not to retaliate. The president accused Beijing of backing out of a “great deal� last week. (Politico)
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\n5/ Trump aide Larry Kudlow acknowledged that U.S. consumers will be the ones who pay for Trump’s tariffs, not China. “Both sides will suffer on this,� Kudlow said. Trump’s decision to renew his trade war with China could inflict lasting damage on the American economy, but the ultimate impact depends on how far the president takes the fight. (NBC News / New York Times)
\n6/ Nadler is under pressure from calls for “inherent contempt.� The House Judiciary Committee chairman faces pressure to get tougher with the Trump administration and start threatening fines or jail time as punishment for noncompliance. (Politico)
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1/ The House Ways and Mean Committee subpoenaed Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin over Trump’s tax returns. IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig was also subpoenaed. Chairman Richard Neal gave Mnuchin and Rettig until until May 17 to turn over six years of Trump’s returns, and is expected to go to court to enforce his request if the Trump administration continues to argue that the committee does not have a legitimate legislative purpose that warrants compliance. Earlier this week, Mnuchin rejected Neal’s request for the returns. Trump previously vowed to fight all subpoenas from House Democrats. Subpoenas are now pending from the Ways and Means, Judiciary, Oversight and Reform, Financial Services, and the Intelligence Committees. (CNBC / New York Times / Politico / Washington Post) / Wall Street Journal)
\n2/ The House Judiciary Committee introduced the “No President Is Above the Law Act� that would “pause the statute of limitations for any federal offense committed by a sitting president.� The move is an attempt to get around a Justice Department ruling that a sitting president cannot be indicted or criminally prosecuted. Robert Mueller laid out extensive evidence of possible obstruction by Trump, but declined to exonerate Trump in his report, citing a Justice Department legal opinion that a sitting president cannot be indicted. (Axios)
\n3/ Robert Mueller won’t testify in front of the House Judiciary Committee next week, but “he will come at some point,� committee chairman Jerrold Nadler told reporters. The committee is still negotiating with the Justice Department for Mueller’s appearance. “If it’s necessary,� Nadler said, “we will subpoena him and he will come.� Mueller was tentatively scheduled to appear May 15th. (The Hill / Reuters)
\n4/ Trump escalated his trade war with China, raising tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods and moving ahead to tax nearly all of China’s imports. Trump said the move is meant to punish China for attempting to “renegotiate� a trade deal between the two countries. At one point, Trump mentioned that he received a “beautiful letter� from Chinese President Xi Jinping, who wanted to speak with him on the phone, but later said he would be more than happy to keep hitting China with tariffs. “I have no idea what’s going to happen,� Trump said, tweeting later that there is “no need to rush� on to securing a trade deal with China. (New York Times / NPR / Washington Post...', '
1/ Mick Mulvaney criticized Republicans for not informing him that Trump Jr. would be subpoenaed by the Senate Intelligence Committee as part of its ongoing probe into Russian interference in the 2016 campaign. The acting White House chief of staff called it “bad form� to “not at least get a heads-up� from the Republican-led committee. Senator Richard Blumenthal said that “If [Trump Jr.] fails to comply with a lawful subpoena, he has no privilege, prison is the only answer.� Trump Jr. is expected to assert his Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination in order to resist testifying about his contacts with Russia. (Washington Post / Politico / CNN / The Hill / Reuters)
\n\n- 📌 Day 839: The Senate Intelligence Committee subpoenaed Trump Jr. to answer questions about his previous testimony related to the Russia investigation. Trump Jr. testified before the committee in September 2017 that he was only “peripherally aware� of the proposed plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Michael Cohen, however, told a House committee earlier this year that he had met with both Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump “approximately 10� times to brief them about the Trump Tower plan. The Republican-led committee wants Trump Jr. to answer questions about his claim to have limited knowledge of the plan. (Axios / CNBC / New York Times)
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\n2/ House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff issued a subpoena to the Justice Department for “counterintelligence and foreign intelligence� from Robert Mueller’s investigation. Schiff said his committee had “no choice� but to serve the subpoena after the Justice Department “repeatedly failed to respond, refused to schedule any testimony, and provided no documents responsive to our legitimate and duly authorized oversight activities.� Schiff gave Attorney General William Barr a deadline of May 15 to hand over the evidence. (Politico / CNN)
\n3/ House Speaker Nancy Pelosi agreed with Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler that the U.S. is in a “constitutional crisis� over the Trump administration’s refusal to comply with congressional oversight, telling reporters: “The administration has decided they are not going to honor their oath of office.� The House Judiciary Committee voted yesterday to recommend the House hold Barr in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over an unredacted version of Mueller’s report. Pelosi said she would bring the contempt citation to the floor for a vote of the full House “when we are ready.� (ABC News / New York Times / Washington Post / Politico / CNN)
\n\n- 📌 Day 838: The White House invoked executive privilege and ordered former counsel Donald McGahn not to comply with a congressional subpoena for documents related to Robert Mueller’s investigation. In a letter to the House Judiciary Committee, White House counsel Pat Cipollone argued that “McGahn does not have the legal right to disclose these documents to third parties� and asked that the committee instead direct the request to the White House, “because they implicate significant Executive Branch confidentiality interests and executive privilege.� Trump has also promised to assert executive privilege to block McGahn’s testimony to the committee later this month. McGahn spent more than 30 hours speaking to Mueller’s investigators, outlining two episodes where Trump asked him to have Mueller fired, and later asking McGahn to deny news reports about that conversation. McGahn rebuffed both requests. (CNBC / ABC News / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / New York Times)
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\n2/ The House Judiciary Committee voted to hold Barr in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over the full, unredacted Mueller report. “We are in a constitutional crisis,“Nadler said after the vote. “We are now in it.� However, Nadler added, impeachment “may not be the best answer.� The vote on contempt now heads to the full House. It is not immediately clear when that vote will be scheduled. If the full House follows the committee’s recommendation, it would be the second time in American history that a sitting attorney general would be held in contempt of Congress. (CNBC / ABC News / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / New York Times)
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📌 Day 819: After Trump fired James Comey, he attempted to have his White House counsel fire Mueller a month later. Trump twice told Donald McGahn to call Rosenstein and order him to fire Mueller, saying: “Mueller has to go� for alleged “conflicts that precluded him from serving as special counsel.� McGahn refused, saying he did not want to repeat the “Saturday Night Massacre.� McGahn then called Reince Priebus, then the White House chief of staff, and told him Trump had asked him to “do crazy shit.� Trump later pressured McGahn to deny that he tried to fire Mueller.
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📌 Day 820: Trump claimed that statements about him “by certain people� in Mueller’s “crazy� report are “total bullshit,� made by people trying to make themselves look good and harm him. Close White House advisers said Trump’s rage was aimed at former White House counsel Don McGahn, who blocked several attempts by Trump to interfere in Mueller’s investigation. Trump continued tweeting: “This was an Illegally Started Hoax that never should have happened, a…� He never finish the statement. (Politico / Bloomberg / Washington Post / NBC News / Wall Street Journal)
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\n2/ FBI Director Christopher Wray said he would not call the 2016 investigation into Trump’s campaign advisers “spying.� When asked during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing if he had “any evidence that any illegal surveillance� into the Trump 2016 campai...', '
1/ More than 370 former federal prosecutors asserted that Trump would have been charged with obstruction of justice if he was not president. Robert Mueller declined to exonerate Trump in his report, citing a Justice Department legal opinion that a sitting president cannot be indicted. The former career government employees who worked in Republican and Democratic administrations signed on to a statement saying, “Each of us believes that the conduct of President Trump described in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report would, in the case of any other person not covered by the Office of Legal Counsel policy against indicting a sitting President, result in multiple felony charges for obstruction of justice.� (Washington Post)
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[READ] The statement by former federal prosecutors. (Medium)
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📌 Day 819: Mueller’s office chose not to charge Trump with obstruction out of “fairness concerns,� because “we recognized that a federal criminal accusation against a sitting President would place burdens on the President’s capacity to govern and potentially preempt constitutional process for addressing presidential misconduct.� According to the report, Mueller considered Trump’s written answers “inadequate,� but knew a subpoena would impose “substantial delay� and they believed they had “sufficient evidence to understand relevant events and to make certain assessments without the President’s testimony.� Trump stated more than 30 times in his written answers that he “does not ‘recall’ or ‘remember’ or have an ‘independent recollection’� of information investigators asked about. Mueller, citing numerous legal constraints in his report, declined to exonerate Trump, writing: “If we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the president clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state. Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, however, we are unable to reach that judgment.� (NBC News / Washington Post / New York Times / Politico / Wall Street Journal)
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\n2/ Trump: “Bob Mueller should not testify.� On Friday, Trump said he’d leave the decision on whether Mueller should testify “up to our attorney general,� William Barr, who had earlier last week said he had no objection to Mueller testifying. Trump’s reversal came hours after the House Judiciary Committee formally invited Mueller to testify on May 15th. The date has not yet been confirmed. (Washington Post / New York Times / NBC News / Wall Street Journal / New York Times / CNN / Politico / Washington Post)
\n2/ House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler set a Monday deadline for Attorney General William Barr to grant access to the underlying evidence in Mueller’s report. If Barr fails to comply with Nadler’s final “counter offer,� the “committee will move to contempt proceedings and seek further legal recourse.� Nadler told Barr that the committee was “willing to prioritize a specific, defined set of underlying investigative and evidentiary materials for immediate production,� specifically citing witness interviews and the contemporaneous notes that were cited in Mueller’s report. The Justice Department said earlier this week it would not comply with Nadler’s subpoena for the unredacted Mueller report, underlying evidence, or grand jury information. (Politico / CNN / ABC News)
\n3/ Trump probably won’t allow former White House counsel Don McGahn to testify to Congress because McGahn was already interviewed by Mueller’s team. “I would say it’s done,� Trump told Fox News. “I’ve had him testifying already for 30 hours.� Trump said he is concerned that allowing McGahn to testify would open the doors for Congress to call other members of his administration to appear before committees. (Reuters)
\n4/ The Trump administration rolled back safety rules for offshore drilling operations that were put in place after the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The change is meant to ease drilling restrictions in places like the Gulf, even though oil production reached a record 1.9 million barrels per day at the end of 2018. It also reduces the required frequency of safety tests for key equipment, such as blowout preventers, a last-ditch safety measure against massive spills and “gushers.� The new rule will take effect in 60 days. (Politico)
\n...', '1/ Nancy Pelosi accused Attorney General William Barr of “not telling the truth to the Congress of the United States — that’s a crime.� At a House Appropriations Committee hearing on April 9th, Charlie Crist asked Barr if Robert Mueller’s team believed he had failed to adequately represent their findings in his four-page memo. Barr responded that he was not aware of any concerns from Mueller’s team. On April 10th at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, Sen. Chris Van Hollen asked Barr if Mueller supported his finding that there was not sufficient evidence to conclude that Trump had obstructed justice. Barr responded: “I don’t know.� Mueller, however, had written Barr two weeks earlier, on March 27th, complaining that the attorney general’s memo “did not fully capture the context, nature and substance� of his work. “He lied to Congress,� Pelosi said. “Nobody is above the law. Not the president of the United States, and not the attorney general.� The Justice Department called Pelosi’s words “reckless, irresponsible and false.� (Associated Press / Politico / CNBC / Washington Post / Washington Post / Vox)
\n\n- 📌 Day 832: Robert Mueller twice objected to Attorney General William Barr’s four-page summary to Congress, saying the memo “did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this office’s work and conclusions.� Barr’s summary claimed that the Mueller investigation “did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government� and that Mueller “did not draw a conclusion — one way or the other —as to whether the examined conduct constituted obstruction.� Mueller, however, sent a letter to Barr on March 27th – three days after Barr issued his summary – citing “public confusion about critical aspects of the results of our investigation� that “threatens to undermine a central purpose for which the department appointed the special counsel: to assure full public confidence in the outcome of the investigations.� Mueller asked the Justice Department to release the 448-page report’s introductions and executive summaries, making some initial suggested redactions that Mueller believed would “alleviate the misunderstandings that have arisen and would answer congressional and public questions about the nature and outcome of our investigation.� Mueller’s office first informed the Justice Department of their concerns on March 25th, the day after Barr released his summary clearing Trump of obstruction of justice. On April 9, Barr testified to Congress that Mueller declined an opportunity to review his summary of “principal conclusions.� Barr also previously testified that he did not know if Mueller supported his conclusion on the question of possible obstruction. (Washington Post / New York Times / Washington Post / New York Times / NBC News / New York Times / Politico / CNN / The Guardian)\n
\n- READ: Mueller’s letter to Barr. (New York Times / Washington Post)
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\n2/ Barr testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, answering questions about Mueller’s report for the first time since publicly releasing a redacted version of the report. Barr blamed the media for “reading too much� into his initial summary. He insisted that he did not misrepresent Mueller’s report and downplayed the significance of Mueller’s multiple complaints that the summary did not capture the report’s full context. Barr called Mueller’s complaint letter “a bit snitty� and questioned why Mueller’s team investigated instances of potential obstruction of justice if he knew he couldn’t charge Trump with a crime under Justice Department restrictions. Barr, however, admitted that he had not reviewed all of the evidence before declaring it “not sufficient to establish that the president committed an obstruction of justice offense.� Barr also claimed that Trump had “fully cooperated� with the investigation and that Trump’s multiple attempts to remove Mueller for alleged “conflicts� were not the same as firing t...', '
1/ The Justice Department and the House Judiciary Committee are at an impasse over Attorney General William Barr’s scheduled testimony. Barr is set to testify about his handling of the conclusions reached by Robert Mueller on Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee and Thursday before the House Judiciary committee. The House hearing, however, is now in doubt over a dispute about who would question Barr. Democrats want part of the questioning be conducted by the panel’s Democratic and Republican staff attorneys. Justice Department officials have threatened to cancel Barr’s appearance over the proposed format. House Democratic staffers, meanwhile, have threatened to subpoena the attorney general if he refuses to appear. House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler added that the Justice Department seemed to be “very afraid� to have Barr answer questions from committee staff attorneys. (Washington Post / Politico / CNN / Axios)
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Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee members called on the Justice Department’s inspector general to investigate Barr’s handling of the Mueller report. Democrats accused Barr of misleading the public with his four-page summary of Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 election before releasing the full report. “It is unclear what statute, regulation, or policy led the Attorney General to interject his own conclusion that the President’s conduct did not amount to obstruction of justice,� the Democratic senators wrote. (Politico)
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� House Committee Investigations into Trump
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Justice Department prosecutors are trying to block Roger Stone from reviewing unredacted portions of Mueller’s report before his November trial. Stone’s lawyers want review pertinent sections of the report about Stone, as well as internal memos from the special counsel’s office. Sections in Mueller’s report were blacked-out because they could cause “harm to an ongoing matter.� (CNN)
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Prosecutors subpoenaed Randy Credico to testify against Stone. Credico is expected to highlight Stone’s efforts to connect with WikiLeaks during the 2016 election about Hillary Clinton’s emails, as well as Stone’s alleged attempts to intimidate Credico into repeating his version of events. (Politico)
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A federal appeals court rejected a request to reexamine the constitutionality of Mueller’s appointment. Andrew Miller’s attorneys tried to stop a subpoena compelling Miller to testify before a federal grand jury about Roger Stone by citing alleged flaws in Mueller’s appointment. (Politico)
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\n2/ Trump mocked national security officials preparing for Russian interference in the 2020 election. Trump suggested that “China is the only game in town� and predicted that “other countries�...', '
1/ Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein resigned, effective May 11th. In his resignation letter to Trump, Rosenstein writes “I am grateful to you for the opportunity to serve; for the courtesy and humor you often display in our personal conversations.� Rosenstein’s successor, Jeffrey Rosen, currently the No. 2 official at the Transportation Department, is awaiting a confirmation vote by the Senate. Rosenstein appointed Robert Mueller to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. [Breaking news… stay tuned for updates] (Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / CNN / NPR)
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📌 Day 110: Trump fired James Comey on the recommendation of Jeff Sessions. In a letter dated Tuesday to Comey, Trump concurred “with the judgment of the Department of Justice that [Comey is not] able to effectively lead the bureau.� Earlier today, the FBI notified Congress that Comey misstated key findings involving the Clinton email investigation during testimony, saying that only a “small number� of emails had been forwarded to disgraced congressman Anthony Weiner, not the “hundreds and thousands� he’d claimed in his testimony. The move sweeps away the man who is responsible for the investigation into whether members of Trump’s campaign team colluded with Russia in its interference in last year’s election. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein laid out the reasons for Comey’s firing, arguing that the handling of his investigation into Clinton’s private server, his decision not to recommend charges be filed, and the news conference he held to explain his reasoning were the cause of his dismissal. Democrats reacted with shock and alarm, accusing Trump of ousting the FBI director to escape scrutiny over his campaign’s Russia ties. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer urged deputy Rosenstein to appoint a special prosecutor for the federal probe into the Trump campaign’s ties with Russian officials — warning that failing to do so will lead the public to “rightly suspect� that Comey’s surprise firing “was part of a cover-up.� (Washington Post / New York Times / NBC News / CNN / Politico)
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📌 Day 118: Rod Rosenstein appointed former FBI Director Bob Mueller to oversee the investigation of Russian interference in election. Mueller will take command of the prosecutors and FBI agents who are working on the far reachingRussia investigation. Trump said that he expects the probe will find no collusion between his 2016 White House campaign and foreign countries, calling the Russia inquiry a “taxpayer-funded charade.�...', '
1/ Trump defended his 2017 comment that there were “very fine people on both sides� of the white supremacist protests in Charlottesville, in which an avowed neo-Nazi rammed his car into a group of protesters, killing a woman and injuring dozens of others. At the time, Trump condemned what happened “on many sides,� arguing there were “very fine people on both sides� of the incident. Now, nearly two years later, Trump stands by his statement, claiming that he answered questions about the incident in Charlottesville “perfectly.� Trump’s comments came a day after Joe Biden launched his presidential campaign with a video comparing the violence and racism displayed in Charlottesville to Trump’s response. The “Unite the Right� rally was organized by self-proclaimed white nationalist Richard Spencer. (Washington Post / Politico / CBS News / Bloomberg / CNN)
\n\n[ANALYSIS] Trump tried to re-write his own history on Charlottesville and “both sides.� But some Trump supporters — and now Trump himself — have argued that he was taken out of context. They say he wasn’t referring to neo-Nazis, white supremacists and white nationalists when he referred to “very fine people� on both sides, but rather some other people who shared their cause of saving a statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee. (Washington Post)
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Trumps advisers: Biden poses the biggest threat to Trump’s re-election. (Politico)
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A Fox News reporter called out two of his colleagues for sounding “like a White Supremacist chat room� when they attempted to defend Trump’s “both sides� comment about white supremacists in Charlottesville. (Daily Beast)
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\n2/ Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein defended his handling of the Russia investigation, attacked the media for how it was covered and blamed the Obama administration for not revealing “the full storyâ€� about Russia’s efforts. Speaking at the Public Servants Dinner of the Armenian Bar Association, Rosenstein recalled how he had promised to “do it rightâ€� during his Senate confirmation hearing and “take it to the appropriate conclusion,â€� while attacking what he called “mercenary critics,â€� politicians and the news media. Rosenstein, however, also warned that hacking and social media maÂ\xadnipuÂ\xadlaÂ\xadtion are “only the tip of the icebergâ€� when it comes to Russian efforts to influence American elections. (NBC News / Washington Post / Politico / CNN / Politico / ABC News)
\n2/ House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler suggested fining officials personally for noncompliance with congressional subpoenas. In order to do so, the House would need to vote on a new rule to allow it to fine people outside the court system. The House could also vote to hold officials in contempt or sue to enforce the subpoena in court, which could take months or years. This week alone the White House directed a former personnel security official to not appear at a scheduled House Oversight Committee deposition, blocked former White House counsel Donald McGahn from testifying to the House Judiciary Committee, and the Justice Department ignored a subpoena from the Oversight Committee for testimony about the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 Census. The Treasury Department also ignored the House’s deadline to turn Trump’s tax returns over to the Ways and Means Committee, and Trump sued to block a subpoena of his accounting firm. (Bloomberg / CNN / Washington Post / New York Times / Axios)
\n3/ Trump claimed he never told Donald McGahn to fire Robert Mueller weeks after he was appointed in 2017, “even though I had the legal right to do so.� The statement runs counter to Mueller’s report, which detailed “McGahn’s clear recollection� of two phone calls in June 2017, where Trump “directed [McGahn] to call� Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and have Mueller “removed� because he “has to go.� Trump also urged McGahn to dispute media reports that he had attempted to fire Mueller. (NBC News / Reuters)
\n4/ Trump’s re-election campaign refused to rule out using hacked information. The Democratic National Committee and the party’s 2020 candidates, meanwhile, have pledged not to use illegally obtained information to their advantage. Mueller’s report outlined how the Russian government interfered in the 2016 race in “sweeping and systematic fashion� in order to help Trump win, and that the Trump team expected to “benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts.� (CNBC / Politico / NBC News / Wall Street Journal)
\n2/ Trump will oppose requests for current and former White House aides to testify to Congress, saying there is “no reason to go any further, and especially in Congress where it’s very partisan – obviously very partisan.� White House lawyers plan to assert executive privilege over testimony by Trump administration witnesses called by the House to try and block their congressional testimony. Trump confusingly tweeted “I didn’t call [the reporter at] the Washington Post, he called me (Returned his call)!� (Washington Post)
\n\n- Trump’s recent tweets and public statements are potentially exposing him to new charges of witness intimidation, obstruction of justice and impeding a congressional investigation, according to Democrats and legal experts. (Politico)
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\n3/ The White House is trying to block a subpoena by the House Judiciary Committee to former White House counsel Don McGahn for testimony about the Mueller report. McGahn was mentioned more than 150 times in Mueller’s report, telling investigators about how Trump pressured him to have Mueller fired and then urged McGahn to publicly deny the episode. The subpoena set a May 7th deadline for documents and a May 21st deadline for McGahn to testify before the committee. Jerry Nadler called the White House’s effort to block the subpoena “one more act of obstruction by an administration desperate to prevent the public from talking about the president’s behavior.� Trump has reportedly told advisers that McGahn was disloyal to him, in part because of McGahn’s notes from meetings were cited in Mueller’s report. (Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / New York Times)
\n4/ The Justice Department refused to comply with a congressional subpoena for a Trump administration official to testify about the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 Census. The House Oversight and Reform Committee is investigating the addition of the citizenship question despite evidence that it could lead to millions of people being undercounted. John Gore’s refusal to appear before the committee is ...', '
1/ The White House instructed a former security clearance official not to comply with a subpoena to testify before the House Oversight Committee. Carl Kline, former White House personnel security director, was responsible for the Trump administration’s security clearance process. He oversaw the approval of at least 25 people for security clearances despite serious concerns raised during the vetting process. Trump’s deputy counsel argued in a letter that the subpoena by the committee “unconstitutionally encroaches on fundamental executive branch interests.� Kline’s attorney, meanwhile, said Kline is being forced to choose between “two masters from two equal branches of government,� and that Kline intends to “follow the instructions of the one that employs him.� (CNN / Axios / Daily Beast)
\n2/ The House Oversight Committee moved to hold the former White House personnel security director in contempt of Congress for failing to appear at a hearing investigating lapses in White House security clearance procedures. Kline is accused of overriding career national security officials to approve security clearances for officials whose applications were initially denied. Elijah Cummings, chairman of the committee, said “The White House and Mr. Kline now stand in open defiance of a duly authorized congressional subpoena with no assertion of any privilege of any kind by President Trump.� (Politico / Washington Post)
\n3/ The Treasury Department missed the House Ways and Means Committee deadline to turn over six years of Trump’s personal and business tax returns. Earlier in the day, the White House indicated that Trump was “not inclined� to hand over his tax returns and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the administration will make a “final decision� by May 6 on whether to turn over Trump’s tax returns. Earlier this month, Mnuchin said “the Treasury Department will not be able to complete its review� by the deadline, due to the “unprecedented nature of this request.� (CNN / Wall Street Journal / Politico / HuffPost / Reuters)
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📌 Day 784: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin suggested that he would protect Trump’s privacy if House Democrats request Trump’s tax returns, saying: “We will examine the request and we will follow the law … and we will protect the president as we would protect any taxpayer� regarding their right to privacy. Mnuchin said he “can’t speculate� on how the administration will respond to demands for Trump’s tax returns until it sees the request. House Democrats are preparing to ask the IRS for 10 years of Trump’s personal tax returns under under a 1924 provision that requires the Treasury secretary to “furnish� any individual’s...', '
1/ Trump and the Trump Organization sued Democratic House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings to block a subpoena seeking information about his finances. The committee subpoenaed Mazars USA, Trump’s longtime accountant, for 10 years’ worth of Trump’s financial records after the firm requested a so-called “friendly subpoena.� Trump’s lawyers complained that Democrats have “declared all-out political war� against him, with subpoenas as their “weapon of choice.� (CNBC / Politico / Washington Post / CNN) / Axios)
\n2/ Rudy Giuliani defended the 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Russians offering dirt on Hillary Clinton, saying “there’s nothing wrong with taking information from Russians.� When asked whether it’s “okay� to use information stolen by a foreign adversary in service of a presidential candidacy, Giuliani said “it depends on the stolen material.� He then added that Russia “shouldn’t have stolen it, but the American people were just given more information.� (Daily Beast / New York Times / CNN / Washington Post)
\n3/ The House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed former White House counsel Don McGahn as part of its investigation into obstruction of justice. The subpoena demands that McGahn testify before the committee on May 21st and provide documents on three-dozen topics by May 7th. The committee previously served the Justice Department with a subpoena for the full Mueller report and underlying evidence, demanding the documents by May 1st. (CNN / CNBC)
\n4/ The Trump campaign hired a new in-house attorney for 2020, shifting its business from McGahn’s law firm, Jones Day, that represented Trump since his run for president. McGahn told Robert Mueller’s investigators that Trump directed him to call Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and tell him to fire Mueller. McGahn refused. “Why in the world would you want to put your enemy on the payroll?� one adviser close to the White House said. “They do not want to reward [McGahn’s] firm.� (Politico / Washington Post)
\n\n- 📌 Day 820: Trump claimed that statements about him “by certain people� in Mueller’s “crazy� report are “total bullshit,�1/ The House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed the Justice Department for access to Robert Mueller’s full report, including grand jury testimony and other material not made public. “My committee needs and is entitled to the full version of the report and the underlying evidence consistent with past practice,� Chairman Jerry Nadler said in a statement. He added that the redactions in Mueller’s report “appear to be significant.� Nadler gave the Justice Department a May 1st deadline to provide the report and “all documents obtained and investigative materials created by the Special Counsel’s Office.� Attorney General William Barr will testify to the House Judiciary Committee on May 2nd. (NPR / Bloomberg / NBC News / New York Times / Politico / The Guardian)\n
2/ The White House called the House Democrat subpoena for the unredacted version of Mueller’s report “more political grandstanding.� Meanwhile, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, accused Democrats of issuing a “wildly overbroad� subpoena to Barr. (Washington Post)
\n3/ The House Judiciary Committee asked the Justice Department to allow Mueller to testify next month. Nadler said he wants Mueller to testify “no later than May 23.� Barr said he has no objection to Mueller testifying before Congress. (Politico / CNBC)
\n4/ Trump claimed that statements about him “by certain people� in Mueller’s “crazy� report are “total bullshit,� made by people trying to make themselves look good and harm him. Close White House advisers said Trump’s rage was aimed at former White House counsel Don McGahn, who blocked several attempts by Trump to interfere in Mueller’s investigation. Trump continued tweeting: “This was an Illegally Started Hoax that never should have happened, a…� He never finish the statement. (Politico / Bloomberg / Washington Post / NBC News / Wall Street Journal)
\n5/ Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claimed the Mueller report contains “no evidence substantiated by any facts� that Russia interfered in the 2016 election and that Moscow rejects any such accusations. Peskov also claimed that Putin has repeatedly denied any interference “because there was none.� Mueller’s report, however, documents multiple efforts by the Russians to meddle in the ele...', '
1/ Attorney General William Barr repeatedly insisted that Robert Mueller “found no evidence� that the Trump campaign conspired with Russia to interfere in the 2016 presidential election and that Russian efforts to interfere “did not have the cooperation of President Trump or the Trump campaign.� Barr also claimed Mueller’s report did not find “collusion� between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. Further, Barr said that even if the Trump campaign had colluded with WikiLeaks, that was not a crime. Mueller identified “numerous� Trump campaign-Russia contacts, but the report says there was “insufficient evidence� to establish a criminal conspiracy between Trump or his campaign aides and their contacts with Russians. The report outlines how Trump was elected with Russia’s help and when a federal inquiry was started to investigate the effort, Trump took multiple steps to stop or undermine it. Barr said Mueller examined 10 “episodes� where Trump may have obstructed justice, but that he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein “disagreed with some of the special counsel’s legal theories and felt that some of the episodes did not amount to obstruction.� According to Barr, Trump acted out of “noncorrupt motives� because he was frustrated by Mueller’s investigation, as well as media coverage that he felt was hurting his administration. (Washington Post / New York Times / Politico / NBC News / CNN / The Guardian / Bloomberg)
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📌 Day 700: Trump’s pick for attorney general criticized Mueller’s obstruction of justice investigation in an unsolicited memo he sent to the Justice Department in June . William Barr said “Mueller’s obstruction theory is fatally misconceived,� claiming that Trump’s interactions with James Comey would not constitute obstruction of justice, because Trump was using his “complete authority to start or stop a law enforcement proceeding.� If confirmed as attorney general, Barr would oversee Mueller’s work. (Wall Street Journal / New York Times / CNN / The Guardian / Washington Post)
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READ: Barr’s prepared remarks. (New York Times1/ Attorney General William Barr directed immigration judges to deny some asylum seekers the opportunity to post bail after being detained. Previously, migrants who established “a credible fear of persecution or torture� in their home country were eligible to seek release on bond. Now they could end up being jailed indefinitely while they wait months or years for their claims to be processed. The Department of Homeland Security will have the discretion to decide whether to release immigrants who initially crossed the border illegally, but later claimed asylum. The order will go into effect in 90 days. (New York Times / CNN / Washington Post / NBC News / Politico / ABC News)
\n2/ Trump vetoed a bipartisan resolution to end American military involvement in the Saudi-led campaign in Yemen. Earlier this month, Congress voted to invoke the War Powers Resolution to try to stop U.S. involvement in the foreign conflict. Trump called it “an unnecessary, dangerous attempt to weaken my constitutional authorities.� The veto – the second of Trump’s presidency – comes a month after he vetoed a resolution to reverse his national emergency declaration aimed at securing funding for a border wall. (Politico / Washington Post / New York Times / NBC News / Axios / Reuters / Associated Press)
\n3/ Trump’s attorneys and the White House plan to resist congressional requests for information about security clearances approvals, Trump’s meetings with foreign leaders, and other topics the administration deems subject to executive privilege. While House Democrats say they’ll continue to issue subpoenas, they also said they have little confidence that Barr will enforce contempt actions if their demands are ignored. Congressional subpoenas — and any criminal contempt proceedings — expire at the end of a congressional session. (Washington Post)
\n4/ Barr and Rod Rosenstein will hold a press conference to discuss the Robert Mueller report at 9:30 am ET Thursday. It’s not clear if the news conference will occur before or after the release of the redacted, 400-page report. [Story is developing…] (CNBC / New York Times / CNN / Politico / Reuters / Washington Post)
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📌 Day 320: Robert Mueller issued a subpoena for the banking records of people affiliated with Trump. The move forced Deutsche Bank – Trump’s biggest lender – to turn over documents related to certain credit transactions and the $300 million Trump owes the lender. Legal experts said it showed Mueller was “following the money� in search of links between the campaign and the Kremlin since Deutsche Bank may have sold some of Trump’s mortgage or loans to Russian-owned banks, which could potentially give Russia leverage over Trump. Jay Sekulow, one of Trump’s personal lawyers, denied that a subpoena had been issued. Since 1998, Deutsche has helped loan at least $2.5 billion to companies affiliated with Trump, which he used to build or purchase highest-profile projects in Washington, New York, Chicago and Florida. (The Guardian / Bloomberg / Reuters / Wall Street Journal)
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📌 Day 356: The Trump administration waived fines for Deutsche Bank and four other multinational banks convicted of manipulating global interest rates. Trump owes Deutsche at least $130 million in loans that were originally worth $300 million. The German bank was alsofined$425 million by New York State for laundering $10 billion out of Russia. (International Business Times / USA Today)
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📌 Day 746: Deutsche Bank refused to give Trump a loan during his 2016 presidential campaign. Trump ...', '
1/ Attorney General William Barr will release a redacted version of Robert Mueller’s report to both Congress and the public on Thursday morning. The redactions will cover four categories: secret grand jury details, classified national security and intelligence specifics, material related to ongoing investigations and sections that could defame “peripheral� third parties wrapped up in Mueller’s probe. The release comes days after Barr told Congress he believed “spying� on the Trump campaign occurred during the 2016 election. Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee have already authorized the use of a subpoena to compel the Justice Department for the full report without redactions if they do not receive it this week. (New York Times / Washington Post / CNN / Politico / NBC News)
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