“Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky was recalled from office by the voters Tuesday, two years after he set off national outrage by sentencing a Stanford athlete to six months in jail for sexually assaulting and attempting to rape an unconscious woman,” the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Trump Is Consumed with Jeff Sessions
Associated Press: “Trump’s fury with Sessions is so ever-present it has taken to darkening his moods even during otherwise happy moments. On Thursday, Trump was on Air Force One returning from a trip to Texas, reveling in both a successful day of fundraising and the heads-up he had received from economic adviser Larry Kudlow that the next day’s jobs report would be positive.”
“But when an aide mentioned Sessions, Trump abruptly ended the conversation and unmuted the television in his office broadcasting Fox News, dismissing the staffer to resume watching cable.”
Democrats Will Turn August Into Health Care Month
Playbook: “Senate Democrats, forced by Republicans to stay in Washington during the August recess, are planning to try to turn the session into a referendum on Republicans’ handling of health-care policy.”
Said a senior Senate Democratic aide: “August will be health care month. Every time they say ‘nominations,’ we’ll say ‘lower premiums.’ When they say ‘appropriations process,’ we’ll say ‘bring down drug prices.’ Health care has been President Trump and Congressional Republicans’ biggest failure, and it’s the issue that’s top of mind for voters. We’re going to be relentless in pushing to prevent the Republican rate hikes that are set to land just before Election Day.”
Menendez Faced Down Unexpected Challenge
Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), “who overcame federal corruption charges, won his Democratic primary Tuesday but faced a surprisingly strong challenge from an opponent who reported spending no money,” the Newark Star Ledger reports.
“Menendez was never in danger of losing. But his opponent, community newspaper publisher Lisa McCormick (D), had nearly 40 percent of the vote with 99 percent counted.”
Democrats Dodge Lockout In California House Races
“Democrats fighting to flip four Orange County GOP-held congressional districts appear to have weathered their first challenge: surviving Tuesday’s primary election to advance to November runoffs,” the Orange County Regiater reports.
“The four races have drawn national attention due to their potential to help Democrats shift the balance of power in Congress. But a glut of Democratic candidates in three of the contests threatened to split the party’s vote in a way that allows two GOP candidates to advance, locking out Democrats and thwarting a blue wave of enthusiasm.”
“But early Wednesday it appeared Democrats had dodged their nightmare scenario by finishing among the top two vote-getters in all four districts.”
Los Angeles Times: “However, with a large number of mail ballots still to be counted, it could be days before results are certain.”
Newsom Faces Cox for California Governor
Gavin Newsom (D) and John Cox (R) are headed for a face-off in California’s general election to replace Gov. Jerry Brown as governor, the Sacramento Bee reports.
“Newsom led Cox as returns continued to roll in, 34% to 26%. Antonio Villaraigosa, the Democratic former mayor of Los Angeles, had 13%, while Republican Assemblyman Travis Allen drew 10% of votes, followed by the other two major Democrats. State Treasurer John Chiang had 9% and former state schools chief Delaine Eastin was drawing 3% of the vote.”
Lawmaker Who Criticized Trump Forced Into Runoff
Rep. Martha Roby (R-AL), “who angered constituents by withdrawing her support from then-candidate Donald Trump in 2016, was forced into a runoff in Alabama’s conservative-leaning 2nd congressional district,” the Washington Post reports.
“Roby un-endorsed Trump after the explosive “Access Hollywood” tape in which he bragged about sexual assault.”
“Roby will face challenger Bobby Bright (R), who accused Roby in commercials of turning her back on Trump. The runoff will be held July 17.”
Democrats Flip Another State Legislative Seat
Lauren Arthur (D) won a Missouri state senate seat in the Kansas City suburbs by 19 points, in a district which backed both Donald Trump and Mitt Romney by 4 points, the Washington Post reports.
Arthur’s victory is the 42nd red-to-blue flip in state legislative races since the inauguration of President Trump.
Primary Election Results
Eight states are holding primaries today. Here are the poll closing times:
- 8 p.m. ET – Alabama, Mississippi, New Jersey
- 9 p.m. ET – Montana, New Mexico, South Dakota
- 10 p.m. ET – Iowa
- 11 p.m. ET – California
Please share your thoughts in the comments as results come in.
White House Aide Who Mocked McCain Is Out
“Kelly Sadler, the White House communications aide who made a imprudent comment about Republican Sen. John McCain’s health, was quietly let go Tuesday nearly a month after making the insensitive remark,” CNN reports.
“The White House had been strategizing an exit for Sadler for the last two weeks… There had been a discussion about relocating her to another agency or department outside of the White House, and it remains unclear if she is going somewhere else or leaving the administration entirely.”
Ellison Will Run for Minnesota Attorney General
Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), a Democratic National Committee official and the first Muslim elected to Congress, launched his campaign for attorney general of Minnesota, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
School Safety Panel Will Not Look at Guns
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said that the federal school safety commission set up after the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School will not examine the role of guns in school violence, the AP reports.
Said DeVos: “That is not part of the commission’s charge per se. We are actually studying school safety and how we can ensure our students are safe at school.”
Trump Fixates on Pardons
President Trump “is privately telling aides that he is strongly considering pardoning Alice Marie Johnson, a 63-year-old woman serving a life sentence, after meeting with Kim Kardashian to discuss her case, as he becomes increasingly fixated on his ability to issue pardons,” the Washington Post reports.
“Trump has recently become intensely focused on his ability to grant pardons, asking his lawyers to compile a list of candidates. A White House official this week said Trump is ‘obsessed’ with pardons, describing them as the president’s new ‘favorite thing’ to talk about. He may sign a dozen or more in the next two months, this person added.”
“For Trump, the presidential pardon holds a special resonance, representing one area where he has almost unchecked power as other aspects of his presidency… remain outside his control.”
Sensenbrenner Town Hall Draws Just One Constituent
Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) held a town hall meeting yesterday, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
“It wasn’t raucous, stormy or packed, as many congressional town halls have been in recent years. It was kind of the opposite, actually. One person showed up. And he was pretty polite.”
Little Seized from Cohen Is Deemed Privileged
A special master reviewing a trove of documents and electronic files seized in April from Michael Cohen, President Trump’s longtime lawyer and fixer, said that, at least so far, only a tiny fraction of the materials are protected by the attorney-client privilege, the New York Times reports.
That means that most can be used by the federal prosecutors who are conducting a wide-ranging criminal investigation into Cohen.
LeBron Says NBA Champs Won’t Visit White House
“Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James says that neither the Cleveland Cavaliers nor the Golden State Warriors want to visit the White House, if they win the NBA Finals,” Sports Illustrated reports.
James added that he was still digesting the news of Trump’s disinviting of the Philadelphia Eagles: “That’s typical of him. I know no matter who wins this series, no one wants to go anyway.”
Why Robert Kennedy’s Assassination Still Matters Today
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Bonus Quote of the Day
“Well the deplorables, we’re the hot ones right now. They’re all trying to figure out how do we get the deplorables on our side, right? So we’re all deplorables together.”
— President Trump, quoted by BuzzFeed News, on a conference call with grassroots activists.
