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Netanyahu Fails to Form a Government

October 21, 2019 at 1:24 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned the mandate for forming a government to President Reuven Rivlin after failing to cobble together enough support for a coalition within the 28-day time frame that Rivlin had granted, the Jerusalem Post reports.

Axios: “This is the second time in six months that Netanyahu has failed to form a government after an election. Benny Gantz, leader of the center-left Blue and White Party, will now get an opportunity to form a coalition, but he’s also unlikely to succeed. The chances are growing that Israel will be forced to hold a third election this year.”

Russian Trolls Are Back for 2020

October 21, 2019 at 1:20 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

CNN: “People linked to the Internet Research Agency, the Kremlin-backed troll group indicted by the United States for its alleged interference in the 2016 US presidential election, are laying the groundwork to do the same in 2020, new information released by Facebook on Monday suggests.”

“Profiles originating in Russia had since the beginning of this year been building a network of accounts on Instagram designed to look like groups in swing states.”

“Although the accounts posed as Americans from all sides of the political spectrum, many were united in their opposition to the candidacy of former Vice President Joe Biden.”

Mark Zuckerberg Referred Campaign Hires to Buttigieg

October 21, 2019 at 1:15 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Bloomberg: “Earlier this year, Zuckerberg sent multiple emails to Mike Schmuhl, Buttigieg’s campaign manager, with names of individuals that he might consider hiring, campaign spokesman Chris Meagher confirmed. Priscilla Chan, Zuckerberg’s wife, also sent multiple emails to Schmuhl with staff recommendations. Ultimately, two of the people recommended were hired.”

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Assange Fights Back Tears In Court

October 21, 2019 at 12:57 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Wikileaks founder Julian Assange struggled to say his own name as he appeared in the dock facing extradition to the US,” the Evening Standard reports.

“The 48-year-old is wanted in the United States over claims that he was involved in the hacking and leak of a mass of classified documents in 2010 through the Wikileaks website. But Assange says he is the victim of a politically-driven campaign by the Trump administration against journalists and whistleblowers, and claims his privileged discussions with lawyers have been spied on by the US.”

Fighting back tears, Assange said he has been denied access to a computer behind bars and is “in fear of my life.” He called the case “not equitable” and added: “I can’t think properly.”

Castro Sets Fundraising Goal to Stay in the Race

October 21, 2019 at 12:39 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Julián Castro on Monday threatened to suspend his presidential bid unless he can raise nearly $1 million by the end of the month, Politico reports.

Said Castro: “If I can’t raise $800,000 in the next 10 days — I will have no choice but to end my race for president. If I don’t meet this deadline, I won’t have the resources to keep my campaign running.”

Russian Hackers Masquerading as Iranian Hackers

October 21, 2019 at 12:24 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Financial Times: “A Russian cyber espionage unit has hacked Iranian hackers to lead attacks in more than 35 countries, a joint UK and US investigation has revealed. The so-called Turla group, which has been linked with Russian intelligence, allegedly hijacked the tools of Oilrig, a group widely linked to the Iranian government.”

Cipollone and Mulvaney Battle Over Chief of Staff Job

October 21, 2019 at 12:15 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“An internal West Wing feud is pitting the top White House lawyer, Pat Cipollone, against President Trump’s acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, who has been facing criticism from both inside and outside the administration for recently telling reporters that military aid to Ukraine was withheld in part to advance Mr. Trump’s political requests,” CBS News reports.

“Internal feuds are nothing new in the Trump White House. And Mulvaney, like predecessors Reince Priebus and John Kelly, has faced maneuvering against him and rumors of his imminent demise. Mulvaney’s status, however, appears more open to question now, and even his allies consider Cipollone a central rival.”

Boris Johnson Presses Ahead with Brexit

October 21, 2019 at 11:45 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Washington Post: “As it did on Super Saturday, the British government will try, once again, to hold a ‘meaningful vote’ on Monday in Parliament on the withdrawal agreement that Johnson successfully negotiated with his European counterparts last week. Britain is scheduled to leave the E.U. on Oct. 31, in just 10 days time. But the terms of its departure — or indeed, when or even if it departs — remain in a deep fog following Johnson’s humiliating defeat in the House of Commons over the weekend.”

No One Is Getting Many Endorsements

October 21, 2019 at 11:27 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Perry Bacon: “By this point in the 2016 Democratic primary, in contrast, a huge bloc Democratic governors, senators and representatives had chosen a candidate, Hillary Clinton. But this cycle, the overwhelming majority of congressional Democrats and Democratic governors are still on the sidelines. Indeed, the 2020 Democratic primary looks more like the 2016 Republican primary, when most GOP officials held their fire until deep into the race, than that year’s Democratic race.”

Conservatives Have Significant Leverage Over Trump

October 21, 2019 at 11:14 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

James Hohmann: “President Trump backs down when confronted with criticism from congressional Republicans if it’s loud enough and he fears he could lose support from his base.”

“National Rifle Association leaders have told Trump that he’d lose the support of gun owners if he threw his weight behind universal background checks. This helps explain why he’s backed down after calling for stricter background checks in the immediate aftermath of multiple mass shootings. This weekend, Trump nixed plans to host the G-7 summit at his Doral golf club not because it gave Democrats fodder for an article of impeachment but because key Republicans told him they couldn’t defend it. The president appears to be repeating this pattern with Syria.”

“These are all illustrations that conservative lawmakers have more leverage over the White House than they seem to think, especially with impeachment votes looming.”

Trump Grows Increasingly Frustrated with Mulvaney

October 21, 2019 at 10:57 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A source familiar with President Trump’s thinking told CNN that “after watching media coverage this weekend about Mick Mulvaney’s Thursday news conference and performance attempting to clean it up, the President has grown increasingly frustrated with his acting chief of staff’s ability to properly communicate the White House’s impeachment strategy.”

“Trump has voraciously consumed news coverage about Mulvaney and has become more agitated… Specifically, the President is concerned, according to the source, that Mulvaney is not transitioning enough to the role he is in now — helping to lead the impeachment inquiry defense from the West Wing.”

Republicans Push Vote to Censure Adam Schiff

October 21, 2019 at 10:26 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

House Republicans are expected to push a vote on Monday on a resolution to censure House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, NBC News reports.

Republicans are taking issue with how Schiff is conducting the impeachment investigation.

The House votes at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Toobin Regrets Playing Up Clinton Email Story

October 21, 2019 at 10:03 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Jeffrey Toobin said he regretted the role he played in amplifying the coverage of Hillary Clinton’s private email server during the 2016 campaign after an investigation found “no persuasive evidence” of classified information being systematically or deliberately mishandled.

Tweeted Toobin: “Note the mostly buried news that State Dept closed Hillary Clinton email probe with this verdict: no big deal. As a journalist, I regret my role in blowing this story out of proportion.”

Voters In Battleground States Divided on Impeachment

October 21, 2019 at 10:00 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Voters in the states likeliest to decide the 2020 presidential election support the impeachment inquiry that House Democrats began last month, but a majority still opposes impeaching President Trump and removing him from office,” according to a New York Times/Siena College survey.

“In the six closest states carried by the president in 2016, registered voters support the impeachment inquiry by a five-point margin, 50% to 45%. The same voters oppose impeaching Mr. Trump and removing him from office, 53% to 43%.”

Warren Would Use Wealth Tax to Fund Education Plan

October 21, 2019 at 9:28 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Sen. Elizabeth Warren is calling for $800 billion in additional federal funding for public education, a move that would exhaust the remaining revenue to be raised by her proposed wealth tax even as she seeks ways to finance Medicare for All,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Ms. Warren outlined on the blog site Medium an additional $450 billion in Title I funding to boost schools with low-income students, $200 billion in grants for students with disabilities and $100 billion in other grants over 10 years. She also vowed to invest $50 billion in school infrastructure on top of existing funding for school upgrades that are in some of her other policy proposals.”

Quote of the Day

October 21, 2019 at 9:18 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“At the end of the day, you know, he still considers himself to be in the hospitality business.”

— Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, quoted by USA Today, on President Trump.

Trump Trails All Top Democrats In Minnesota

October 21, 2019 at 8:52 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Star Tribune Minnesota Poll finds President Trump trailing all of the leading Democratic presidential candidates.

Joe Biden leads Trump 50% to 38%, Elizabeth Warren is ahead 51% to 40% and Bernie Sanders leads 49% to 41%. Home state favorite Amy Klobuchar crushes Trump 55% to 38%.

Barr Expands Probe Into Origins of Russia Investigation

October 21, 2019 at 8:44 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“A review launched by Attorney General William Barr into the origins of the Russia investigation has expanded significantly amid concerns about whether the probe has any legal or factual basis,” NBC News reports.

“Although the probe did not begin as a criminal investigation, Justice Department officials won’t comment on whether it has morphed into one.”