President Trump claims in a new book that he is “far greater than Ronald Reagan” and says conservatives don’t give him enough credit for his accomplishments, the Washington Examiner reports.
Said Trump: “The amazing thing is that you have certain people who are conservative Republicans that if my name weren’t Trump, if it were John Smith, they would say I’m the greatest president in history and I blow Ronald Reagan away.”
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) told USA Today that the House Intelligence committee “will have to prioritize the most important witnesses and records that Republicans blocked them from pursuing.”
“The ‘clearest example; of that obstruction, he said, is phone records that would show whether the blocked phone number – logged as Trump Jr. was arranging a meeting with a Russian lawyer in Trump Tower – belonged to then-candidate Donald Trump.”
“At first, Trump Jr. said he never told his father of the meeting, but then later told Senate investigators that he couldn’t recall who he spoke with that night.”
Garrett Graff: “Manafort might have unwittingly given Mueller just the opportunity he requires to make public even more details about the former Trump campaign chairman, Russia, and the Trump campaign’s activities in 2016. In a court filing Monday, Mueller’s team alleged that Manafort had lied to investigators, asking the judge to move immediately to sentencing. They also said they would provide a ‘detailed sentencing submission,’ outlining ‘the nature of the defendant’s crimes and lies.'”
“In other words, Mueller plans to quickly issue a ‘report’ on Manafort’s activities, one that—if it’s anything like every other court document Mueller has filed thus far—will be more informed, more knowledgeable, and more detailed than anyone anticipates.”
“In fact, such a move would be entirely consistent with one of the most surprising and least noticed aspects of Mueller’s approach all along: He’s been writing the long-anticipated ‘Mueller Report’ bit-by-bit, in public, since his very first court filing.”
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“The National Rifle Association of America reported $98 million in contributions in 2017, down from nearly $125 million in 2016,” according to new tax records obtained by the Daily Beast.
“Nearly a fifth of its contributions last year came from a single anonymous donor, who chipped in nearly $19 million to the group.”
“More noteworthy than its drop in contributions, though, was its decline in membership dues. The NRA took in more than $128 million in dues last year—a significant sum, but down considerably from the $163 million it took in the year prior.”
“He may not be the sharpest knife in our drawer, but he can see his future and knows that if he acted in an extralegal way, he would go down in history for the wrong reasons. I’m sure he doesn’t want that.”
— Former FBI Director James Comey, in a WGBH interview, on acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker.
Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX) said there’s a chance the Senate will actually vote on legislation designed to protect special counsel Robert Mueller, Roll Call reports.
Cornyn suggested that may be the price paid in order to get an agreement with retiring Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) to let more of President Trump’s judicial nominations through the Judiciary Committee.
“Texas is no longer, I believe, a reliably red state. We are on the precipice of turning purple.”
— Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), on the Hugh Hewitt Show.
“Multiple witnesses in the trial of Rep. Robert Brady’s (D-PA) former campaign strategist have implicated the congressman for conspiring to commit campaign finance crimes, recasting the spotlight on his past alleged corruption,” Roll Call reports.
“Brady, a longtime Philadelphia Democrat who is retiring in at the end of his 11th term in January, allegedly conspired with his former campaign strategists, Ken Smukler and Donald “D.A.” Jones, to pay a 2012 Democratic primary challenger $90,000 for him to exit the race.”
Nate McMurray (D) conceded his race against Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY) but promised he wasn’t going away, suggesting that his opponent’s indictment might create an opening, the Buffalo News reports.
Said McMurray: “So we’re going to do things like hold town halls. And whether Mr. Collins wants to do that, or not, we don’t care. He can show up to our town halls, if he wants. Beyond that, Mr. Collins’ future in Washington remains murky. He says that he will finish his term but, as we know, he’s not the best at keeping promises.”
He added: “When the time is right, I will run for office again.”
President Obama recorded a robocall that ran in Mississippi last night, though he did not mention U.S. Senate candidate Mike Espy (D) by name.
Said Obama: “My name may not be on the ballot, but our future is, and that’s why I believe this is one of the most important elections in our lifetime. Make a plan to vote tomorrow. I’m counting on you to be in line to vote before polls close.”
“Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort held secret talks with Julian Assange inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London, and visited around the time he joined Trump’s campaign,” The Guardian reports.
“Sources have said Manafort went to see Assange in 2013, 2015 and in spring 2016 – during the period when he was made a key figure in Trump’s push for the White House.”
“It is unclear why Manafort wanted to see Assange and what was discussed. But the last meeting is likely to come under scrutiny and could interest Robert Mueller, the special prosecutor who is investigating alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.”
House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) said that it was “awfully tough” for government officials such as Ivanka Trump to comply with agency standards for secure communications when sending emails, Politico reports.
Said Goodlatte: “When things like this come up, it’s important people understand, they need to make sure they’re doing what they can. And it’s awfully tough, as everyone knows, when you’re sending emails about a lot of different things to make sure that you’re doing it according to the rules in the White House or wherever you’re doing it.”
In voiding Paul Manafort’s cooperation agreement, special counsel Robert Mueller also promised extensive information on Manafort’s alleged lies before he is sentenced, the Washington Post reports.
“Mueller’s team has always been tight-lipped publicly, but it has made some key disclosures through indictments… The Mueller filing on Manafort’s alleged lies won’t be an indictment, per se, and there is a very real chance it could remain under seal to protect the ongoing investigation. But if it is made public, it would give Mueller a chance to say whatever he feels like disclosing, and notably without Whitaker’s approval — which would be required for a new indictment or for releasing a final report, if Whitaker has indeed taken oversight of the probe and supersedes Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.”
While panel shout-fests are nothing new at CNN, this exchange between Scott Jennings and Max Boot is really something.
The morning after special counsel Robert Mueller’s prosecutors accused Paul Manafort of lying and breaking his cooperation agreement, President Trump took to Twitter to criticize the probe as a “Phony Witch Hunt” that’s doing “tremendous damage to our Criminal Justice System.”
He added: “Heroes will come of this, and it won’t be Mueller and his terrible Gang of Angry Democrats. Look at their past, and look where they come from. The now $30,000,000 Witch Hunt continues and they’ve got nothing but ruined lives. Where is the Server? Let these terrible people go back to the Clinton Foundation and ‘Justice’ Department!”
For members: Was Paul Manafort an Unwitting Double-Agent?
“Former EPA administrator Scott Pruitt was clearly taken aback last year when occasional Fox & Friends fill-in host Ed Henry grilled him about a number of ethical scandals facing his administration,” the Daily Beast reports.
“And Pruitt had a good reason to be surprised. In past interviews with President Trump’s favorite cable news show, the then-EPA chief’s team chose the topics for interviews, and knew the questions in advance. In one instance, according to emails revealed in a Freedom of Information Act request submitted by the Sierra Club and reviewed by The Daily Beast, Pruitt’s team even approved part of the show’s script.”
“I shouldn’t say this, you’ll say I’m very conceited, because I’m not, but other than the blonde hair, when I was growing up they said I looked like Elvis. Can you believe it?”
— President Trump, quoted by The Hill, at a campaign rally in Mississippi.
“In a blow to President Juan Orlando Hernández of Honduras, American prosecutors on Monday announced drug charges against his younger brother, describing him as a ‘large-scale drug trafficker’ who spent a dozen years moving cocaine shipments bound for the United States through Central America,” the New York Times reports.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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