Pennsylvania state Rep. Fred Keller (R) easily defeated Marc Friedenberg (D) in a special election Tuesday in Pennsylvania’s 12th district, Roll Call reports.
House Intelligence Strikes Deal for Mueller Materials
“The House Intelligence Committee will not enforce a subpoena against Attorney General William Barr as planned Wednesday, after the Justice Department agreed at the 11th hour to produce the redacted material and underlying information from the special counsel’s report that the panel sought, albeit more slowly than it wanted,” the Washington Post reports.
However, Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) also warned that the subpoena “will remain in effect and will be enforced should the Department fail to comply with the full document request.”
The Path Forward on Impeachment
Join now to continue reading.
Members get exclusive analysis, bonus features and no advertising. Learn more.
Trump Goes Off on Impeachment
President Trump went off on Twitter early this morning about the chorus of Democratic calls to bring forth impeachment proceedings against him, claiming that Democrats want a “do over” of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, NBC News reports.
Said Trump: “Everything the Democrats are asking me for is based on an illegally started investigation that failed for them, especially when the Mueller Report came back with a NO COLLUSION finding. Now they say Impeach President Trump, even though he did nothin wrong, while they ‘fish!'”
He added: “After two years of an expensive and comprehensive Witch Hunt, the Democrats don’t like the result and they want a DO OVER. In other words, the Witch Hunt continues!”
Sanders Changes Tune on High-Dollar Fundraisers
“Bernie Sanders — who swore off big-money fundraisers and criticized Hillary Clinton’s fundraising as ‘obscene’ during the 2016 campaign — is changing his approach as the scramble for Democratic campaign cash heats up,” Politico reports.
“The Vermont senator has decided to hold in-person fundraising events where donors of all means will be invited and the media will be allowed. He has also hired a fundraiser to oversee the effort, a position he did not have in his 2016 bid.”
2020 Election Turnout Could Set Records
“The midterm elections may have been a sign of what’s ahead for the 2020 presidential election: experts say the voter turnout could be the highest in a century,” Axios reports.
“According to Michael McDonald, an elections expert at the University of Florida, turnout for the 2020 presidential election could be as high as 67% — the highest it’s been since at least 1916. If that happens, President Trump will have a tougher fight for a second term.”
“He’s driving turnout among those most unhappy with him (younger voters and people of color) even when he’s not on the ballot. And Trump voters aren’t a growing demographic group. The share of whites with less than a 4-year degree — Trump’s constituency — dropped by 3% from 2014 to 2018.”
GOP Leaders Back Tillis By Bloodying His Challenger
Washington Examiner: “Republican leaders in the Senate are aggressively defending Sen. Thom Tillis, with plans to carpet bomb primary challenger Garland Tucker across the North Carolina airwaves if he jeopardizes the incumbent’s 2020 reelection.”
Inside Pelosi’s Impeachment Playbook
Playbook: “If you’ve watched Speaker Nancy Pelosi for any period of time in the majority, you know she has an uncanny ability to stay unflinchingly focused on a goal, without getting panicked or itchy or changing course. (Ironically, it’s a trait she shares with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — though don’t bring that up with them or their friends.)”
“At the moment, Pelosi’s goal is quite clear: to avoid rushing to impeach President Trump. If you talk to her allies, her advisers and people close to her, they’ll tell you she believes the impeachment route is an all-around loser right now.”
“Pelosi allies firmly believe that if Democrats impeach Trump, they will lose the presidency and the House in 2020 — period. They also don’t believe Congress or the American public is behind impeachment at the moment. Further, they say that launching an inquiry that isn’t airtight could backfire as they pursue other legal options to extract documents from the White House.”
Washington Post: The case for and against impeachment.
Iowa Democrats Brace for Caucus Turnout Surge
The Hill: “Democrats in Iowa are preparing for what’s likely to be the most widely attended caucuses in state history next February, and they’re hoping to avoid the acrimony that followed the closely fought contest in 2016.”
Democrats Shouldn’t Assume Impeachment Will Backfire
Aaron Blake: “Drawing hard and fast conclusions about American politics is often difficult, given the country’s relative youth. We quite simply don’t have that many elections with which to analyze the effectiveness of various political strategies. And that’s especially the case with impeachment, which has been undertaken only twice in American history. What’s more, these assumptions about impeachment are largely based upon a sample size of one: Bill Clinton’s impeachment in the late 1990s.”
“As I wrote a while back, the timeline of Clinton’s impeachment seemed to work against Republicans. Having begun impeachment proceedings on the eve of the 1998 election, the initial backlash was instantly able to register at the ballot box and help Democrats score unexpected success in the midterm elections. Republicans then officially impeached Clinton on Dec. 19, 1998, and Clinton’s approval rating hit its highest mark ever — 73 percent — in a Gallup poll that was conducted starting that day.”
“But that timeline is not today’s timeline. Today, there is actually time for the impeachment proceedings to register with the American people.”
The Most Important Political TV Show
New York Times: “Twelve of the 26 people who have announced that they are running for president in 2020 have already been on the show, with one more, Senator Elizabeth Warren, already scheduled. … ‘The View’ has become an influential political talk show because it isn’t one.”
“The panelists are invited into viewers’ homes every day for an hour, and in between interviewing candidates about the distinction between socialism and democratic socialism, they share intimate details of their lives: how many times a week they step on a scale, how long it was until they slept with someone else after their divorces.”
Democrats Are Fine With Fox News Town Halls
“More than 60 percent of Democrats said they think it’s acceptable for candidates from their party to appear at the town halls, a new Politico/Morning Consult poll released Wednesday found. Just 17 percent of Democrats said it’s inappropriate for the White House hopefuls to agree to the primetime events.”
U.S. Companies Face Retaliation as Trade War Deepens
Financial Times: “Roughly 47 per cent of the members of the American Chamber of Commerce in China and a similar group based in Shanghai said that on top of recently imposed tariffs, they faced retaliation such as slower customs clearance, more inspections and delayed approvals for licences, according to a survey released on Wednesday.”
“About a third of the 239 American companies surveyed said they were cancelling or delaying investments in China while about 40 per cent said they were considering relocating manufacturing facilities outside of China, with south-east Asia and Mexico among the favoured destinations.”
Infrastructure Isn’t Going Anywhere
Playbook: “Three weeks ago, Democrats left the White House optimistic, but realistic, about the chances of an infrastructure bill. TRUMP had agreed to spend $2 trillion on a massive infrastructure package — aides said he was giddy about the high number — and the two sides were to meet again to figure out how to pay for it. Trump, Democrats said, would come up with the funding scheme, and, indeed, policy staffers at the National Economic Council, Treasury and OMB started to work on various proposals.”
“Well, this wen about as well as any other infrastructure week. The White House is not going to present any plan to pay for rebuilding the nation’s roads and highways.”
Reuters: Democrats to press Trump on paying for infrastructure boost.
Trump Jr. Writing a Book
Donald Trump Jr. has signed a book deal with Center Street Books, an imprint of the Hachette Book Group, for a book “that will focus on politics, current events and the future of the MAGA movement,” Politico reports.
The book is expected to publish late this year.
Budget Talks Continue
Politico: “Congressional leaders and the Trump administration finished a round of breakneck budget talks on Tuesday with no resolution but a commitment to keep negotiating and try to clinch a debt and spending agreement that would avoid fiscal catastrophe.”
GOP Lawmaker Punched Wife In Face Over Sex
A police report says Mississippi state Rep. Doug McLeod (R) punched his wife in the face after she didn’t undress quickly enough when the lawmaker wanted to have sex, the AP reports.
Judge Orders Release of Cohen Search Warrants
“Special counsel Robert Mueller’s search warrants in his investigation of Michael Cohen will be made public with redactions on Wednesday, a federal judge ordered Tuesday,” CNN reports.
“The five warrants in total encompass the searches the special counsel conducted between July and November 2017 of Cohen’s emails and other content related to his email accounts, the order said.”
