President Trump “is likely to announce plans for a future summit meeting with President Xi Jinping of China where the two will resolve remaining trade issues and sign a final agreement between the United States and China,” the New York Times reports.
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Arrest Exposes Security Gaps at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago
“The arrest of a Chinese woman who carried a malware-laced device into Mar-a-Lago, President Trump’s Florida resort, has exposed porous security at the private club and escalating tensions between Secret Service agents and the resort’s staff members, who vet guest lists and allow people onto the sprawling grounds,” the New York Times reports.
“At times neither side has had full clarity on who was entering Mar-a-Lago. Secret Service agents must rely on club receptionists and other employees to crosscheck visitors.”
“Her arrest revealed gaps in Mr. Trump’s security as well as the challenge of protecting a president who spends less time at the remote, fortified Camp David and more time at his busy resort with sometimes hundreds of guests. The normally tight-lipped Secret Service was so disturbed by the breach that it issued an unusual statement that effectively blamed the Mar-a-Lago staff for not tightly tracking the comings and goings of guests.”
Trump Nominee Kept Lobbying Despite Promises to Stop
“A previously unreleased invoice indicates that David Bernhardt, President Trump’s choice to lead the Interior Department, continued to lobby for a major client several months after he filed official papers saying that he had ended his lobbying activities,” the New York Times reports.
Still Waiting on Fundraising Reports
First Read notes we only have first quarter fundraising numbers from Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris, Beto O’Rourke and Bernie Sanders.
“By the way, what does it say about the Dem 2020 candidates who haven’t released their fundraising numbers yet? And what does it say if the mayor of South Bend outraises you?”
“The candidates have until April 15 to file their reports to the FEC.”
Mueller’s Prosecutors Send a Signal
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New Model Forecasts a Very Close Election
Alan Abromowitz explains the latest iteration of his “time for change” presidential election forecasting model.
“The most plausible prediction at this point, however, is for a very close contest. Given a net approval rating of -10, approximately where Trump’s approval rating has been stuck for most of the past year, and real GDP growth of between 1% to 2%, in line with most recent economic forecasts, the model predicts that he would receive between 263 and 283 electoral votes. Of course, it takes 270 electoral votes to win.”
Buttigieg Hints Formal Announcement Is Coming
Pete Buttigieg, who is officially still just “exploring” a presidential bid, tweeted that he’ll be making a “special announcement” in South Bend on April 14.
Axios: “Online interest in Buttigieg — a 37-year-old gay veteran and Harvard graduate who speaks 8 languages — has skyrocketed since his CNN town hall, generating more engagement with his tweets (2.10 million interactions) during this period than any other candidate’s main account except Beto O’Rourke — with half as many followers. Buttigieg’s campaign raised $7 million in the first quarter of 2019.”
GOP Lawmakers In Georgia Want to Regulate the Press
“A group of Republicans in the Georgia state assembly unveiled a bill earlier this week that could open the door to imposing regulations on members of the free press that include fining reporters who refuse to turn over recordings to subjects of interviews,” CNN reports.
“The bill, sponsored by Georgia state GOP Rep. Andrew Welch and other Republican lawmakers, looks to establish a ‘Journalism Ethics Board’ that could create ‘canons of ethics’ and new regulations for journalists in the state… The bill states journalists and news organizations ‘may be investigated and sanctioned for violating such canons of ethics’ by the board, should it become law.”
The Redaction Wars
Politico: “House Democrats want to see everything related to the special counsel’s nearly two-year-old investigation into Russia meddling in the 2016 presidential election. But their open-book demands stand at odds with the Justice Department’s desire to black out sensitive areas throughout Mueller’s 400-page submission.”
“The high-stakes chess match will play out on both political and legal grounds, and so far neither side has yet to show any signs of compromise.”
“As a result, the battle could spill into the courts, setting up a protracted legal confrontation that inevitably causes waves in the thick of the 2020 White House race. For President Donald Trump, the possibility of freshly unveiled Mueller bombshells dropping while he runs for reelection could be devastating. But Democrats are in a tough position: pursuing their legal challenge at all costs could feed the Trump-approved narrative that they’re overzealous, but giving up risks angering their own Trump-hating base.”
Officials Study Options for Closing U.S.-Mexico Border
Bloomberg: “The Trump administration is examining options for shutting entry points to the U.S. from Mexico in case the president follows through with his threat to close the border, a White House official said Wednesday.
“Officials are discussing the possibility of closing select ports of entry, partly closing them, or shutting all entry points entirely, said the official, who asked for anonymity to comment on private deliberations. The preparations are said to be somewhere between a theoretical discussion of options and implementation planning.”
Jonathan Swan: “The cautious view among most Republican lawmakers and White House aides is that President Trump won’t follow through with his dramatic threat to close ports of entry at the border.”
Book Details Trump’s Relationship with Capitol Hill
Washington Post: “During a Republican retreat at Camp David last year, President Trump seemed particularly enthralled as Gary Cohn, then his chief economic adviser, delivered a briefing on infrastructure. The president impressed the assembled lawmakers with his apparent interest in the presentation, nodding along and scribbling furious notes.”
“But Trump’s notes ‘had nothing to do with infrastructure,’ journalists Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer write in their new book, The Hill to Die On. Instead, Trump had scrawled ‘Sloppy Steve’ atop his index card, followed by ‘copious notes’ criticizing Stephen K. Bannon, his former chief strategist whom he had fired several months earlier.”
“‘As Cohn had detailed his plans to rebuild America’s roads, the president was writing down how he wanted to trash Steve Bannon the next time someone asked him about it,’ the authors write, in one of buzzy scenes that pepper the book.”
Trump Hit With Investigative Assault
“In a single day, House Democrats demanded President Donald Trump’s tax returns for six years, moved to get a decade’s worth of his financial records and prepared to issue a subpoena for the full Mueller report from the Justice Department,” Politico reports.
“Top House Democratic lawmakers and aides say the triple-headed attack was more by accident than design, but it’s also clear that April 3 marks a turning point for the new Democratic majority. In less than eight hours, House Democrats moved to an all-out investigative assault on Trump, one that the White House and Republican leaders blasted as unnecessary, openly partisan and a huge distraction from the country’s business.”
Bennet Has Prostate Cancer But Will Run for President
Mike Littwin: “When Michael Bennet’s office called to say he had a big announcement to make, I assumed he would be confirming what everyone already knew — that the Colorado senator would be joining John Hickenlooper and the rest of the ever-expanding Democratic field running for president. And, also, that though he understood he would be a long shot, he figured at this point, without a clear favorite, that it could leave an opening for someone like him — the umpteenth senator to announce.”
“When Bennet got to the phone, that is, in fact, what he did say. But it wasn’t all he said or nearly the most important thing he said and definitely not the most scary thing he said.”
“Which was this: Just as he had finally become comfortable with his decision to run, he went to get a physical and received very discomfiting news from his doctor — he has prostate cancer.”
Buttigieg Draws Huge Crowd at Northeastern
“Pete Buttigieg, the nascent presidential candidate and mayor of South Bend, Ind., riled up a crowd of more than 1,000 college students at Northeastern University on Wednesday,” Politico reports.
“Part of his appeal, the students said, was that Buttigieg wasn’t trying to appeal to them.”
Kushner Was Official Whose Clearance Was Denied
The senior White House official whose security clearance was denied last year because of concerns about foreign influence, private business interests and personal conduct is presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner, the Washington Post reports.
“The new details about the internal debate over Kushner’s clearance revives questions about the severity of the issues flagged in his background investigation and Kushner’s access to government secrets.”
Mueller’s Team Sees Findings as More Damaging for Trump
“Some of Robert Mueller’s investigators have told associates that Attorney General William Barr failed to adequately portray the findings of their inquiry and that they were more troubling for President Trump than Mr. Barr indicated,” the New York Times reports.
“Some members of Mr. Mueller’s team are concerned that, because Mr. Barr created the first narrative of the special counsel’s findings, Americans’ views will have hardened before the investigation’s conclusions become public.”
“It was unclear how much discussion Mr. Mueller and his investigators had with senior Justice Department officials about how their findings would be made public. It was also unclear how widespread the vexation is among the special counsel team, which included 19 lawyers, about 40 F.B.I. agents and other personnel.”
For members: Barr Changes His Story
Ryan to Announce White House Bid This Week
Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) “is expected to announce a presidential campaign this week,” several sources told BuzzFeed News.
“Ryan is scheduled to appear Thursday on The View, a popular talk show destination for national politicians. He is also planning a Saturday rally in Youngstown. Leaders from local organized labor — long a staple of his base — have been invited to attend.”
House Chairman Requests Trump Tax Returns
Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said Congress has a duty to conduct oversight of “our voluntary Federal tax system and determine how Americans – including those elected to our highest office – are complying with those laws,” the Washington Post reports.
President Trump has refused to provide his tax returns, and in a break from other presidential candidates, never released his returns.
The New York Times says the request will start “what is likely to be a momentous fight with his administration.”
