Bryan Lanza, a former senior campaign and transition aide to President Trump “recently inked a deal to help a Russian oligarch’s conglomerate shed sanctions the Trump administration slapped on them last month,” CNN reports.
AT&T Hired Cohen to Advise on AT&T Deal
“Three days after President Trump was sworn into office, the telecom giant AT&T turned to his personal attorney, Michael Cohen, for help on a wide portfolio of issues pending before the federal government — including the company’s proposed merger with Time Warner,” the Washington Post reports.
“The internal documents reveal for the first time that Cohen’s $600,000 deal with AT&T specified that he would provide advice on the $85 billion merger, which required the approval of federal antitrust regulators. Trump had voiced opposition to the merger during the presidential campaign, and his administration ultimately opposed the AT&T effort.”
Homeland Security Chief Nearly Resigned
“Kirstjen Nielsen, the homeland security secretary, told colleagues she was close to resigning after President Trump berated her on Wednesday in front of the entire cabinet for what he said was her failure to adequately secure the nation’s borders,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Trump’s anger toward Ms. Nielsen at the cabinet meeting was part of a lengthy tirade in which the president railed at his entire cabinet about what he said was their lack of progress toward sealing the country’s borders against illegal immigrants, according to one person who was present at the meeting.”
Merkel Says Europe Can No Longer Count on U.S.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Europe can no longer count on the U.S. for military protection and must “take its destiny into its own hands,” Bloomberg reports.
Said Merkel: “It’s no longer the case that the United States will simply just protect us. Rather, Europe needs to take its fate into its own hands. That’s the task for the future.”
Putin Scored 5 Goals In Exhibition Hockey Game
“Russian President Vladimir Putin scored five goals in an exhibition hockey game with former NHL stars on Thursday,” ESPN reports.
“Five goals was on the low side by Putin’s standards — he scored eight in the 2015 game and seven last year.”
Making the Election About Trump Energizes Republicans
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Oldest Appellate Vacancy Filled Over Objections of Senator
“Milwaukee lawyer Michael Brennan was confirmed for a key federal judgeship, filling the oldest appellate vacancy in the country but deepening a partisan schism in the U.S. Senate over judges,” the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports.
“He was confirmed 49-46 with only Republican votes, over the objections of Democrat Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin’s junior senator.”
“That has typically been enough to sink a nomination in recent years, because senators from both parties have enjoyed an effective veto over the selection of federal judges from their home states, a tradition known as the ‘blue slip.'”
“Baldwin’s GOP colleague from Wisconsin, Ron Johnson, used his blue slip power to block one of Democratic President Barack Obama’s nominees for the same 7th Circuit seat that his party filled Thursday.”
‘So Conservative’
Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp (R) is out with a new ad: “I’ve got a big truck, just in case I need to round up criminal illegals and take them home myself. Yep, I just said that.”
In Kemp’s first campaign ad, he promised to create a state-wide database to “track and immediately deport all criminal aliens so our kids don’t become the next victims.”
When Gerrymandering Backfires
Politico: “In many states, Republicans maximized gains in the House by spreading GOP voters across as many districts as possible. Typically, that left Democrats with around 40 to 45 percent of the vote in those districts, making them difficult under normal circumstances for the minority party to contest.”
“But this election year is anything but normal. Many of the once-secure 55-45 Republican districts are very much in play, even in states that have not had competitive congressional races since 2012, the year new maps were installed. And North Carolina and Ohio — where Democrats chose nominees in primaries on Tuesday — are turning into the prime examples.”
Most Republicans Say Trump Is Being Framed by FBI
A new Economist/YouGov poll finds that 61% of Republicans think President Trump is being framed by the FBI and Justice Department, while just 17% said he is not and 21% said they are not sure.
Overall, just 29% said Trump is being set up by the law enforcement agencies, compared to 45% who said he is not being framed and 26% who are not sure.
Quote of the Day
“We want to thank Kim Jong Un, who really was excellent to these three incredible people.”
— President Trump, quoted by Politico, on the return of three Americans who had been imprisoned by North Korea.
Giuliani Forced to Resign from His Law Firm
Rudy Giuliani “abruptly resigned from his law firm after weeks of tensions over his public comments,” the New York Times reports.
“Firm partners had chafed over Mr. Giuliani’s public comments about payments that another of Mr. Trump’s lawyers, Michael D. Cohen, made to secure the silence of a pornographic film actress who said she had an affair with Mr. Trump. The president has denied her allegations. In interviews, Mr. Giuliani suggested that such payments were common at his firm.”
Republicans Are the Party of No Ideas
Reason: “In the Trump administration, it’s always infrastructure week. But it’s less of a legislative rollout and more of a state of mind. Despite promises dating back to the 2016, the White House admitted yesterday that there won’t be any infrastructure bill this year.”
“Whether you view Trump’s infrastructure plan as a smart way to leverage federal spending, another federal boondoggle, an on-brand political move with cross-partisan potential, or, like me, some mix of the above, the elimination of the bill from this year’s agenda is yet another reminder of how little Republicans have to offer in terms of substantive policy.”
” If anything, the party appears to be giving up on its long-held priorities, and replacing them with vacuous Trumpism. Loyalty to the president has become a substitute for a governing vision.”
Trump Will Meet Kim on June 12
President Trump tweets:
The highly anticipated meeting between Kim Jong Un and myself will take place in Singapore on June 12th. We will both try to make it a very special moment for World Peace!
Grassley Tries to Nudge Justices Into Early Retirement
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) “encouraged Supreme Court justices flirting with retirement to immediately step down, saying he would like to push through a nominee before the midterm elections,” Politico reports.
Said Grassley: “I just hope that if there is going to be a nominee, I hope it’s now or within two or three weeks, because we’ve got to get this done before the election. So my message to any one of the nine Supreme Court justices, if you’re thinking about quitting this year, do it yesterday.”
Company That Hired Cohen Behind Alt-Right Websites
“A company at the center of widening questions involving President Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen is listed as the organization behind a string of websites targeted toward white nationalists and other members of the alt-right,” the Washington Post reports.
“Columbus Nova, a company whose U.S. chief executive, Andrew Intrater, and Russian investment partner Viktor Vekselberg have both reportedly been interviewed by special counsel Robert Mueller’s team, is listed as the registrant behind a handful of domains for websites named after the alt-right that were created during the 2016 election.”
NBC News: Meet the ‘nice’ Russian oligarch linked to Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.
One-Fifth of Americans Have No Religious Affiliation
A new ABC News poll finds the number of adults expressing no religious affiliation has risen from 12% in 2003 to 21% of all adults in 2017. That includes 3% who say they’re atheists, 3% agnostic and 15% who say they have no religion.
The largest shifts during this 15-year period include 16-point increases among young adults (age 18 to 29) and political liberals.
Kasich Still Not Endorsing DeWine
Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) won’t endorse GOP gubernatorial nominee Mike DeWine (R), the Columbus Dispatch reports.
“At least until the two-term incumbent finds out what DeWine intends to do with two beloved Kasich endeavors: JobsOhio and the Medicaid expansion, which has provided health care to 700,000 low-income Ohioans.”