Vice President Mike Pence “doesn’t appear to own a home and hasn’t saved much for retirement, yet he’s a millionaire thanks to his government pensions. A career politician with little notable experience in the private sector, Pence is entitled to at least $85,000 per year for the rest of his life,” Forbes reports.
Quote of the Day
“This is why as a former governor, you thank God every day you were never a member of the House.”
— Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), quoted by ABC News, on the Mueller hearings.
Justice Department Orders Restart of Executions
“The Justice Department announced Thursday that it plans to resume executing prisoners awaiting the death penalty, ending almost two decades in which the federal government had not imposed capital punishment on prisoners,” the Washington Post reports.
Schiff Says the Election Is the Only Way to Remove Trump
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) downplayed the prospects of removing President Trump from office through impeachment, saying the only way he’s leaving office, at this point, is “by being voted out,” the Washington Post reports.
Said Schiff: “We do need to be realistic, and that is, the only way he’s leaving office, at least at this point, is by being voted out, and I think our efforts need to be made in every respect to make sure we turn out our people.”
He added: “Should we put the country through an impeachment? I haven’t been convinced yet that we should. Going through that kind of momentous and disruptive experience for the country, I think, is not something we go into lightly.”
Weld Says Trump Is a ‘Raging Racist’
Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld (R) called President Trump a “raging racist” at the NAACP convention in Detroit.
Said Weld: “Donald Trump is a raging racist, Okay? He’s a complete and thoroughgoing racist. And he made that choice, a choice a long time ago, when he was engaged in the housing business in New York with his father.”
He added: “The national Republican Party, has a choice. And a lot of them like to think that it’s a political choice. But it’s not a political choice. It’s a moral choice. Unless the Republican Party in Washington expressly, expressly rejects the racism of Donald Trump, they’re going to come to be universally viewed as the party of racism in America.”
What It Means to Be an American
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) writes a beautiful op-ed in the New York Times:
“Having survived civil war in my home country as a child, I cherish these values. In Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, I saw grade-school children as young as me holding assault rifles in the streets. I spent four years in a refugee camp in Kenya, where there was no formal schooling or even running water. But my family and I persevered, fortified by our deep solidarity with one another, the compassion of others and the hope of a better life in the United States.”
“The America we arrived in was different from the one my grandfather had hoped to find. The land of opportunity he imagined in 1992 was in fact full of challenges. People identified me in ways that were foreign to me: immigrant, black. I learned that these identities carried stigmas, and I experienced prejudice as a visibly Muslim woman.”
“But the beauty of this country is not that our democracy is perfect. It’s that embedded in our Constitution and democratic institutions are the tools to make it better. It was in the diverse community of Minneapolis — the very community that welcomed me home with open arms after Mr. Trump’s attacks against me last week — where I learned the true value of democracy. I started attending political caucuses with my grandfather, who cherished democracy as only someone who has experienced its absence could. I soon recognized that the only way to ensure that everyone in my community had a voice was by participating in the democratic process.”
Two Things About the Mueller Hearings
First Read: “Two things can be true about former special counsel Robert Mueller’s congressional testimony yesterday.”
“It was damaging to President Trump, contradicting the president’s key claims and defenses about the Russia probe. And it all but closed the door on the likelihood of Democrats impeaching the president – given the congressional math.”
Boris Johnson Remakes His Cabinet
“Before Boris Johnson became prime minister, his close friends had privately questioned whether he would have the stomach for the difficult decisions. Shortly after 5pm yesterday, any doubts they harboured had been dispelled,” the London Times reports.
“In the space of an hour Mr Johnson embarked on the bloodiest cabinet reshuffle in modern history, sacking 11 ministers while six others resigned.”
Said Nigel Evans, a supporter of Johnson: “It’s not so much a reshuffle as a summer’s day massacre.”
Buttigieg Spends Big on Private Planes
Pete Buttigieg has spent roughly $300,000 on private jet travel this year, more than any other Democrat running for the White House, the AP reports.
Joe Biden spent $256,000 on charter flights, and the rest of the field spent far less. Sen. Elizabeth Warren spent $60,000, Sen. Bernie Sanders spent $18,000 and Sen. Kamala Harris spent $17,000.
Automakers Rebuff Trump, Strike Deal with California
“Four automakers from three continents have struck a deal with California to produce more fuel-efficient cars for their U.S. fleets in coming years, undercutting one of the Trump administration’s most aggressive climate policy rollbacks,” the Washington Post reports.
John Dean Criticizes Mueller for Not Subpoenaing Trump
Former Nixon White House counsel John Dean told CNN that special counsel Robert Mueller not pursuing a subpoena for President Trump was akin to not pursuing the Nixon tapes containing his conversations about the Watergate scandal.
Said Dean: “This is a man who if it had been Richard Nixon, wouldn’t go after the tapes because it would take too long. And I think that’s something that’s going to hang over this investigation, hang over Mueller, because he really didn’t vigorously pursue it as he might’ve.”
Forecast Points to Gains By Democrats In 2020
Alan Abromowitz‘s latest forecast model finds that based on President Trump’s current net approval rating and the current House generic ballot, the Democrats would be likely to make modest gains in the House elections and have a real chance to win control of the Senate.
“According to the most recent averages from FiveThirtyEight, national polls have shown a Democratic advantage of around 6.5 points on the House generic ballot — somewhat similar to the results prior to the 2018 midterm election — and a net approval rating for President Trump of about -10. Those numbers, if they continue into the late summer of 2020, would predict Democratic gains of around five seats in the House and six seats in the Senate.”
“However, there are significant caveats with both projections. Obviously, one of those is that it is very early and that the president’s approval rating and the generic ballot could very well be different late next summer.”
New Jersey Official Wishes for Lawmaker’s Death
Daniel Leonard, who serves on a regional school board in New Jersey, wrote in a Facebook post that his “life would be complete” if Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) dies, the Asbury Park Press reports.
The Russians Are Still At It
Washington Post: “You might have missed it amid the clipped one-word answers, political grandstanding and punditry. But former special counsel Robert Mueller issued a sharp warning on Wednesday regarding foreign interference in the 2020 election: ‘It wasn’t a single attempt. They’re doing it as we sit here. And they expect to do it during the next campaign.'”
“There was no topic that the halting and reluctant witness spoke more forcefully and extensively on, telling lawmakers that efforts by Moscow — and other foreign entities — to interfere in U.S. elections are ‘among the most serious’ challenges to U.S. democracy.”
Republicans Embarrassed Themselves at Mueller Hearings
Jonathan Bernstein: “Some things are so obvious that no one even bothers to mention them. So I want to be clear: House Republicans embarrassed themselves Wednesday at former special counsel Robert Mueller’s hearings.”
“There’s nothing wrong with politicians defending a president of the same party during a scandal. It’s their job, in fact, to point out where evidence is weak, conclusions assume too much, or stories have holes in them. Nor is it a problem when they try to place a scandal in context if (as is often the case) a media frenzy or overeager out-party has exaggerated the importance of some instance of wrongdoing. Many Republicans played that role during Watergate, and while they were burned by a president who couldn’t be trusted, historians have been relatively kind to them.”
“That’s not what happened Wednesday. Instead of reading carefully into the evidence and finding contradictions or loose ends, House Republicans largely busied themselves with conspiracy theories.”
Only Biden Tops Trump In Ohio
A new Quinnipiac poll In Ohio finds Joe Biden leads President Trump, 50% to 42% in the critical swing state, the only leading Democratic candidate to top the Republican incumbent.
The other leading Democratic contenders each are locked in a dead heat with President Trump.
Democrats Launch ‘News’ Outlets In Key Swing States
Vice News: “One of the party’s largest Super PACs is finally pulling the trigger on a $100 million plan to help boot Trump from office… Priorities USA is planning to flood swing states — many of which have lost their local papers — with stories favorable to the Democratic agenda. Four ‘news’ outlets staffed by Democratic operatives will publish state-specific information across social media in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Wisconsin. They’ll also boost content by independent sources.”
Jeffrey Epstein Visited Clinton White House
A Daily Beast investigation has uncovered ties between Jeffrey Epstein and the Clinton administration that date back to the president’s earliest days in the White House, casting doubt on the oft-circulated narrative that the two only began associating after Clinton left office.
Meanwhile, the New York Post reports Epstein was found unconscious in his jail cell after a possible suicide attempt.