“Ivana Trump was laid to rest at her former husband’s golf course in New Jersey where white flowers and a plaque marked the freshly buried grave,” the New York Post reports.
Bannon Accused of Defying Another Subpoena
“A former Trump campaign staffer asked a judge this week to hold Steve Bannon in civil contempt for allegedly failing to comply with a subpoena seeking his testimony in her ongoing sexual discrimination lawsuit against former President Donald Trump’ 2016 campaign,” WUSA reports.
Biden Savors Much-Needed Victories
New York Times: “Even for a president who has become used to the highs and lows of governing, it was a moment to feel whipsawed. Since taking office 18 months ago, Mr. Biden has celebrated successes like passage of the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill and slogged through crises like the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. Gas prices soared; now they are coming down. Unemployment is at record lows even as there are signs of a looming recession.”
“The president’s brand of politics is rooted in a slower era, before Twitter, and sometimes it can pay off to have the patience to wait for a deal to finally emerge. But now, with congressional elections coming up in a few months, the challenge for Mr. Biden is to make sure his latest successes resonate with Americans who remain deeply skeptical about the future.”
“The magnitude of the Senate deal was received like a splash of icy water across Washington, which had all but written off the possibility that Mr. Biden’s far-reaching ambitions could be revived this year.”
Trump Apologized to Cruz for Insults During Campaign
“Donald Trump made an uncharacteristic apology to Ted Cruz after insulting his wife and father during the 2016 campaign – only for the Texas senator still to refuse to endorse Trump at the Republican convention,” The Guardian reports.
In a new memoir, Trump’s then campaign manager, Paul Manafort, writes: “On his own initiative, Trump did apologise for saying some of the things he said about Cruz, which was unusual for Trump.”
“The telling vignette – possibly an embarrassing one for two powerful Republicans who have since formed an alliance of convenience – is contained in Political Prisoner: Persecuted, Prosecuted, but Not Silenced.”
Trump Endorses Tudor Dixon for Michigan Governor
“Tudor Dixon, a conservative media personality who is leading the polls in Michigan’s Republican race for governor, secured former President Donald Trump’s endorsement on Friday,” NBC News reports.
Watchdog Halted Plan to Recover Secret Service Texts
“The Department of Homeland Security’s chief watchdog scrapped its investigative team’s effort to collect agency phones to try to recover deleted Secret Service texts this year,” the Washington Post reports.
“In early February, after learning that the Secret Service’s text messages had been erased as part of a migration to new devices, staff at Inspector General Joseph V. Cuffari’s office planned to contact all DHS agencies offering to have data specialists help retrieve messages from their phones, according to two government whistleblowers who provided reports to Congress.”
“But later that month, Cuffari’s office decided it would not collect or review any agency phones.”
Fox News Is Ignoring Donald Trump
“It’s been more than 100 days since Donald Trump was interviewed on Fox News,” the New York Times reports.
“The network, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch and boosted Mr. Trump’s ascension from real estate developer and reality television star to the White House, is now often bypassing him in favor of showcasing other Republicans.”
“In the former president’s view, according to two people who have spoken to him recently, Fox’s ignoring him is an affront far worse than running stories and commentary that he has complained are “too negative.” The network is effectively displacing him from his favorite spot: the center of the news cycle.”
House Passes Assault Weapons Ban
“House Democrats passed an assault weapons ban for the first time in roughly 30 years Friday, a legislative feat on a politically fraught issue that tested the unity of the caucus,” the Washington Post reports.
“The historic legislation passed along party lines with a razor-thin majority and with only two Republicans voting in support. The bill faces virtually no chance of passage in an evenly-split Senate.”
“The passage of an assault weapons ban is a significant feat for any chamber of Congress. Multiple attempts for the legislation to even be considered in committees were jettisoned. But the rise of mass shootings that have touched every corner of American life since the previous assault weapon ban expired in 2004 has catapulted the issue to a top priority for Democrats, who have long pushed for reforms to gun laws.”
‘Ludicrous’ Deletion of Texts Baffles Experts
“Cybersecurity experts and former government leaders are stunned by how poorly the Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security handled the preservation of officials’ text messages and other data from around Jan. 6, 2021, saying the top agencies entrusted with fighting cybercrime should never have bungled the simple task of backing up agents’ phones,” the Washington Post reports.
“Experts are divided over whether the disappearance of phone data from around the time of the insurrection is a sign of incompetence, an intentional coverup, or some murkier middle ground. But the failure has raised suspicions about the disposition of records that could provide intimate details about what happened on that chaotic day, and whose preservation was mandated by federal law.”
Esquire: Hey, that’s weird. The texts for Trump’s top DHS officials are also gone.
Biden Communications Director Decides to Stay
“White House communications director Kate Bedingfield is staying on in her role, a surprise decision coming after the White House announced she would be leaving,” CNN reports.
Watchdog Knew of Missing Texts Months Earlier
“The embattled inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security first learned of missing Secret Service text messages in May 2021 – months earlier than previously known and more than a year before he alerted the House select committee investigating January 6, 2021, that potentially crucial information may have been erased,” CNN reports.
California Leads In Liz Cheney Donors
“Californians have contributed more to Republican Rep. Liz Cheney than donors from any other state, including her Wyoming home, as the outspoken Trump critic faces an increasingly perilous reelection bid,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
“Many California donors, including Hollywood and Silicon Valley moguls, vehemently disagree with most of Cheney’s policies but applaud her fight against former President Trump’s false claim that he won the 2020 election.”
Russians Want Murderer Added to Prisoner Swap
“Russian government officials requested that a former colonel from the country’s domestic spy agency who was convicted of murder in Germany last year be added to the US’ proposed swap of a notorious arms dealer for Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan,” CNN reports.
“The Russians communicated the request to the US earlier this month through an informal backchannel used by the spy agency.”
Pelosi Set to Leave for Asia Amid Chinese Threats
“Speaker Nancy Pelosi is set to leave this weekend on a trip that includes Singapore, Japan and South Korea — and possibly Taiwan — even as a Chinese state media commentator suggested Friday that Beijing could shoot down any U.S. military plane she takes to Taipei,” Politico reports.
“Pelosi has declined to confirm specifics of her expected swing through Asia, citing security risks.”
Staffers Flee Arizona Democrat’s Campaign
Arizona Agenda: “In the past five months, two-thirds of Democrat Katie Hobbs’ gubernatorial campaign staff have left, and several describe the campaign as an emotionally abusive atmosphere that got so bad, they were to upend their lives and plans mid-election and seek employment elsewhere.”
“The problem isn’t Hobbs herself, the former staffers told us. Instead, it was created by a new campaign manager.”
Russian National Indicted for Political Influence Operation
“Federal authorities charged a Russian man Friday with a years-long malign influence campaign targeting American politics — alleging that he used American groups in Florida, Georgia and California to sow discord and push pro-Russia propaganda,” the Washington Post reports.
“Aleksandr Viktorovich Ionov, who lives in Moscow, worked for nearly eight years with Russian officials to fund and direct the U.S. groups, according to the indictment filed in Florida.”
Alex Lasry Gives Democrats a $600K Surprise
Alex Lasry (D), who dropped out of the U.S. Senate race in Wisconsin, said he will use $584,000 worth of previously purchased airtime to run attack ads against Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), NBC News reports.
Senate GOP Sounds Alarms Over Dr. Oz
Politico: “The Senate Republicans’ campaign arm is privately sounding the alarm about physician Mehmet Oz’s bid for the Senate in the critical battleground of Pennsylvania, while telling donors that the party still has a path to winning the majority without the state.”
