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Secrets of Trump’s Prenup with Marla Maples

June 4, 2019 at 5:10 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Gabriel Sherman got a copy of Donald Trump’s 1993 prenuptial agreement with second wife Marla Maples.

“Its draconian terms suggest a penuriousness at odds with his public image as a free-spending billionaire in his gilded triplex penthouse. And its confidential financial statements included in the agreement is a sketch of Trump’s immense privilege and the wealth he squandered, telling in both what it illuminates and what is obfuscates.”

“More than anything, the prenup shows how fiercely Trump wanted to protect the money he did have. Maples reportedly wanted $25 million, but Trump agreed to pay her only $1 million if they separated within five years, plus another $1 million to buy a house. Trump also would stop making $100,000 child support payments for Tiffany when she turned 21. The agreement states that Trump’s payments would cease earlier if Tiffany got a full-time job, enlisted in the military, or joined the Peace Corps.”

GOP Signals to White House Not to Nominate Cuccinelli

June 4, 2019 at 5:02 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Republican lawmakers have privately signaled to the White House that President Donald Trump should not nominate Ken Cuccinelli as the head of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services — or else he risks having another high-profile pick forced to withdraw,” CNN reports.

Trump Children Crashed Royal Banquet

June 4, 2019 at 4:38 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

CNN: “Queen Elizabeth II formally invited just President Trump and first lady Melania Trump to travel to London for an official State Banquet at Buckingham Palace. But the event became more of an extended family affair, with Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and his wife Lara, and Tiffany Trump all joining the exclusive party.”

“The President’s eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump, was already set to attend in her capacity as a formal adviser to the President, and a senior member of his administration.”

Texas Governor Was Behind Attempted Voter Purge

June 4, 2019 at 4:28 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Electronic communications made public show Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) office was a driving force in the state’s program to purge nearly 100,000 suspected non-U.S. citizens from Texas’ voter rolls,” the San Antonio Express News reports.

“The program was scrapped in April after the state settled lawsuits challenging it, and after Secretary of State officials publicly admitted they included flawed data showing tens of thousands of naturalized citizens were on the purge list.”

Trump Baby Balloon Stabbed In London

June 4, 2019 at 4:13 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A Trump supporter in London stabbed the Trump baby balloon while also cutting herself on her own knife, according to a video from The Sun.

She was arrested immediately afterwards.

A journalist later tweeted: “Trump Baby was only lightly wounded in today’s attack and stands at full pressurization.”

GOP Senators Say They’ll Block Trump Tariffs

June 4, 2019 at 3:51 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Republican senators warned Trump administration officials Tuesday they were prepared to block the president’s effort to impose tariffs on Mexican imports, promising what would be GOP lawmakers’ most brazen defiance of the president since he took office,” the Washington Post reports.

“During a closed-door lunch, at least a half-dozen senators spoke in opposition to the tariffs, while no one spoke in support.”

“Senators told officials from the White House and Department of Justice that there could be a disapproval vote if Trump moves forward — and this time, unlike with an earlier disapproval resolution, opponents of Trump’s tariffs could have enough support to override a veto.”

Biden’s Climate Plan Copies from Other Sites

June 4, 2019 at 3:50 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Business Insider reports that multiple sentences in Joe Biden’s new climate change proposal “appear to lift passages from letters and websites for different organizations.”

“The copied sentences are particularly notable due to Biden’s past history of plagiarism, which played a major role in tanking his 1988 presidential campaign.”

Galloway Looks Likely to Run for Missouri Governor

June 4, 2019 at 3:41 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

State auditor Nicole Galloway (D) hammered Gov. Mike Parson (R) on a litany of issues “but saved her most withering critique for a new law Parson recently signed that criminalizes abortion after eight weeks of pregnancy, with no exception for victims of rape or incest,” the Kansas City Star reports.

Said Galloway: “Until now, a survivor of rape could decide what came next. Gov. Parson has taken that choice away from women, and instead a survivor must accept that her rapist could have parental rights.”

Although Parsons is credited for stablizing state government after the scandal-plagued Gov. Eric Greitens (R), Galloway said that isn’t enough: “Simply not being as awful as Eric Greitens is too low of a standard to strive for.”

Alabama Mayor Calls for Killing Homosexuals, Democrats

June 4, 2019 at 3:22 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The mayor of a small Alabama town is apologizing after he recommended “killing” members of the LGBTQ community in a now-deleted Facebook post. WBRC reports.

Said Carbon Hill Mayor Mark Chamber (R): “We live in a society where homosexuals lecture us on morals, transvestites lecture us on human biology, baby killers lecture us on human rights and socialists lecture us on economics!”

He added: “The only way to change it would be to kill the problem out. I know it’s bad to say but without killing them out there’s no way to fix it.”

Schiff Warns Russia Will Unleash Fake Videos

June 4, 2019 at 3:21 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) said the Russian government “is likely to try to influence the 2020 presidential election, not through the release of stolen emails and other documents but through faked videos,” the New York Times reports.

He said that a carefully crafted, controversial fake video would be “hugely disruptive and hugely influential.”

“The risk is amplified because if a video is executed carefully, it can be hard to both prove it is fake and show where it came from.”

House Democrats Move to Increase Lawmaker Pay

June 4, 2019 at 3:08 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“House Democrats are moving forward with a plan to give members of Congress their first pay increase in a decade,” Bloomberg reports.

“The party has scheduled a vote on a $1 trillion spending package next week that includes the annual bill funding congressional operations. The measure leaves out language in effect since 2010 that would prevent lawmakers from receiving an annual cost-of-living increase to the $174,000 base salary for rank-and-file lawmakers.”

Swalwell Leaves Door Open for Re-Election to House

June 4, 2019 at 2:20 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) “sees June as his time to shine — but if America doesn’t fall in love with the four-term congressman, he’s still open to running for a fifth term in the House,” The Hill reports.

Said Swalwell: “I’m running for president right now. Don’t have to make that decision until December. We need this field to start shrinking so candidates can distinguish themselves. I hope to be part of the field as it shrinks. If I don’t, I’m going to be realistic about my options.”

Political Ad Spending Will Approach $10 Billion

June 4, 2019 at 1:19 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Political ad spending will increase to $9.9 billion in 2020,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“That would be up from $8.7 billion in 2018, the year of the most recent midterm Congressional elections, and $6.3 billion in 2016.”

2020 Census Could Lead To Massive Undercount

June 4, 2019 at 1:18 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

NPR: “Challenges threatening the upcoming 2020 census could risk more than 4 million people to be missing from next year’s national head count.”

“Nationally, black residents could be undercounted by as much as 3.68 percent…. The Urban Institute also projects as many as 2.2 million (3.57 percent) Latinos and Latinas around the U.S. could be left out of the 2020 census. Children under the age of 5 — another hard-to-count group — also face an undercount as high as 6.31 percent, or about 1.3 million young children.”

Why McConnell Outmaneuvers Democrats on Judges

June 4, 2019 at 1:11 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Jeffrey Toobin: “There’s another, less obvious reason that McConnell can game the Supreme Court confirmation process with impunity. The Republican Party has been far more invested in the future of the Supreme Court, and of the judiciary generally, than the Democratic Party has. Judicial appointments, especially to the Supreme Court, are a central pillar of the Republican agenda, and Republican voters will forgive any number of other transgressions if the Party delivers on the courts.”

“Donald Trump understood this. That’s why, during the 2016 campaign, he released a short list of possible nominees to the Court. The list was largely compiled by Leonard Leo, the executive vice-president of the Federalist Society, and the names on it demonstrated to the Republican base that Trump was serious about following its agenda—starting with overruling Roe v. Wade.”

“Democrats are different. Consider what happened after McConnell blocked the Garland nomination. After a few days of perfunctory outrage, most Democratic politicians dropped the issue.”

Reporter Says Trump Sounded ‘Delusional’

June 4, 2019 at 12:57 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

NBC News chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel tweeted that President Trump “sounded delusional” when he referred to “thousands” of people cheering him in London in a press conference.

Said Engel: “I didnt see them. And that small crowds of protestors were put out for political reasons. These not are some frog marched, bussed in protesters.”

CNN fact checks Trump’s other statements from the press conference.

Romney Gives First Senate Speech

June 4, 2019 at 12:54 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Mitt Romney gave his first speech on the Senate floor, defending the international alliances that have come under attack by President Trump, The Hill reports.

Said Romney: “Alliances are absolutely essential to America’s security, to our future, I can’t state that more plainly. We need to hold our friends closer not neglect them or drive them away.”

He added that such alliances are key to countering China, since the U.S. has “many friends” but “China has very few.”

Washington Post: “Romney did not mention Trump by name in what was his first major address since joining the Senate in January, but his remarks amounted to a gentle rebuke of some of the president’s foreign policy priorities as Trump was in the midst of a trip to Europe.”

Hoyer Says Mueller May Be Subpoenaed

June 4, 2019 at 12:51 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said that Congress should subpoena special counsel Robert Mueller if necessary to get him to testify, The Hill reports.

Said Hoyer: “I think he ought to testify. He may want a subpoena, for all I know. He indicated that his report speaks for itself. Very frankly… questioning is an important fact-finding pursuit.”