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Blankenship Will Try to Get on West Virginia Ballot

July 24, 2018 at 2:26 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Don Blankenship (R), the former coal baron and convicted felon who finished third in the West Virginia Republican primary in May, is wading back into the state’s U.S. Senate race, this time attempting to file paperwork to run as a member of the Constitution Party,” ABC News reports.

“Blankenship conceded that he does not expect the filing to be certified due to West Virginia’s ‘sore loser’ law that prohibits candidates that lost in a primary to run in the general election, but that he believes his name will be on the ballot in November.”

Many Migrant Parents Have Been Deported Without Their Children

July 24, 2018 at 1:17 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The Trump administration may have already deported as many as 463 migrant parents who were separated from their children at the U.S.-Mexico border, and they may have lost their right to reunification, Justice Department lawyers said in a court filing on Monday,” NBC News reports.

“Those parents may not be eligible to be reunified with their children, according to the filing, which grouped parents not in the U.S. as either potentially eligible or not eligible.”

Giuiliani Says Trump Won’t Talk About Obstruction

July 24, 2018 at 12:35 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rudy Giuliani told Bloomberg that he’s told special counsel Robert Mueller that President Trump would agree to an interview if questions were focused only on whether his campaign colluded with Russia in the 2016 presdiential election.

Giuliani added that he would not agree to an interview that focused on obstruction of justice.

Garrett Faces Two Ethics Probes

July 24, 2018 at 12:22 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rep. Tom Garrett (R-VA) “is the subject of two separate investigations by the House Ethics Committee and Office of Congressional Ethics, including questions over whether his drinking impacted the Virginia Republican’s ability to do his job,” Politico reports.

“Investigators are looking into allegations that Garrett and his wife improperly ordered congressional aides to conduct personal errands for them while on official time. These errands allegedly included picking up groceries, chauffeuring Garrett’s daughters to and from his Virginia district, fetching clothes that the congressman forgot at his Washington apartment, or even cleaning up after his dog.”

”Garrett’s use of alcohol or other substances is a focus of both probes as well.”

12 Cohen Audio Tapes Given to Investigators

July 23, 2018 at 5:54 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Twelve audiotapes seized when federal agents raided the home and office of former Trump private attorney Michael Cohen have now been released to federal investigators,” NBC News reports.

Support for Roe v. Wade Hits New High

July 23, 2018 at 5:50 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds that 71% of American voters believe that the decision, which established a woman’s legal right to an abortion, should not be overturned. Just 23% say the ruling should be reversed.

“That’s the highest level of support for the decision — and the lowest share of voters who want Roe v. Wade overturned — in the poll’s history dating back to 2005. In 1989, according to Gallup’s survey, 58% said they believed it should stay in place while 31% disagreed.”

Democratic Candidate Dupes Fox & Friends

July 23, 2018 at 5:26 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“A Massachusetts congressional candidate pulled a bait-and-switch on a Fox News talk show Monday morning, using the president’s preferred morning show as a platform to blast his administration’s policy of immigrant family separations,” Politico reports.

“The network thought it had booked Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick, a former Arizona congresswoman running for another stint in Congress, for its Fox and Friends First morning show — the idea was that Kirkpatrick was a Democrat who supported the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.”

“But the bookers had instead lined up state Sen. Barbara L’Italien, a Democrat running in a crowded open congressional race in Massachusetts. And she had an entirely different message in mind.”

Ohio Congressman Intends to Run for President

July 23, 2018 at 4:17 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) “has been telling political consultants and operatives that he intends to run for president of the United States in 2020, and is beginning to put together a team,” The Intercept reports.

“Ryan, who has served in Congress since 2002 as a representative from the 13th District in Ohio, which covers Youngstown and the surrounding area, has cast himself as an opportunity for the party to try and win back the Midwestern votes it has gradually shed over the last decade. A spokesperson for Ryan declined to comment.”

Trump Wants to Revoke Security Clearances of His Critics

July 23, 2018 at 3:25 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters that President Trump is targeting former U.S. officials’ security clearances because they “have politicized and in some cases monetized their public service” and have made “baseless” claims about the president’s relationship and contacts with the Russian government, the Washington Post reports.

“The officials Sanders said are being examined are former CIA director John Brennan; former FBI director James B. Comey; former CIA director Michael Hayden; former national security adviser Susan Rice; former director of national intelligence James Clapper; and former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe.”

Why Don’t U.S. Officials Resign in Protest?

July 23, 2018 at 3:22 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

This piece is only available to Political Wire members.

In the aftermath of President Trump’s disastrous news conference with Vladimir Putin — some would say treasonous — no Trump administration officials have tendered their resignations to protest the president’s blanket dismissal of U.S. intelligence findings that Russia interfered with U.S. elections.

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Trump Officials Dismissed Benefits of National Monuments

July 23, 2018 at 2:56 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“In a quest to shrink national monuments last year, senior Interior Department officials dismissed evidence that these public lands boosted tourism and spurred archaeological discoveries, according to documents the department released this month and retracted a day later,” the Washington Post reports.

“The thousands of pages of email correspondence chart how Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and his aides instead tailored their survey of protected sites to emphasize the value of logging, ranching, and energy development that would be unlocked if they were not designated as national monuments.”

Judge Grants Immunity for 5 Manafort Witnesses

July 23, 2018 at 1:27 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A federal judge has granted the request for five witnesses to testify with immunity in the criminal trial of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, CNN reports.

Trump Again Calls for End of Mueller Probe

July 23, 2018 at 1:10 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump “made a fresh call to end the investigation of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, citing the release over the weekend of a previously classified application to wiretap former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page, who was under suspicion by the FBI of being a Russian agent,” the Washington Post reports.

“In a series of tweets, Trump falsely claimed that Mueller’s investigation was prompted by the surveillance. Trump and other Republicans have accused the FBI of relying too heavily on a dossier compiled by a former British intelligence officer to seek the surveillance order for Page from a federal judge, arguing that Trump was the real target.”

Tax Cut Hasn’t Done Anything for Workers

July 23, 2018 at 12:14 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Bloomberg: “First, the tax reform hasn’t yet resulted in appreciably higher wages for American workers. Real average hourly compensation actually fell in the first quarter after the tax reform was passed.”

“Official data for the second quarter isn’t available yet, but private data isn’t looking encouraging. PayScale’s index of real wages shows a dramatic deterioration in the period.”

Paul Seeks Leverage In Supreme Court Fight

July 23, 2018 at 12:11 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) “is one of a handful of senators who’ll determine whether Brett Kavanaugh lands on the Supreme Court — and the Kentucky Republican has every intention of maximizing his leverage,” Politico reports.

“Paul is again inviting fellow senators to play the will-he-or-won’t-he guessing game when it comes to his decision — expressing grave concerns about Kavanaugh’s approach to personal privacy while insisting his vote could go either way, depending on what the judge says in the coming weeks and months.”

‘Calling My Fellow Republicans’

July 23, 2018 at 12:04 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Christine Todd Whitman: “President Trump’s disgraceful performance in Helsinki, Finland, and in the days since is an indication that he is not fit to remain in office. Trump’s 2016 “America First” platform might be more aptly named “Russia First” after the disaster that occurred last week.”

“Trump’s turn toward Russia is indefensible. I am a lifelong Republican. I have campaigned and won as a member of the party, and I have served more than one Republican president. My Republican colleagues — once rightfully critical of President Obama’s engagement strategy with Russian leader Vladimir Putin — have to end their willful ignorance of the damage Trump is doing both domestically and internationally. We must put aside the GOP label, as hard as that may be, and demonstrate the leadership our country needs by calling on the president to step down.”

Paul Wants to Revoke Brennan’s Security Clearance

July 23, 2018 at 12:00 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Rand Paul tweeted that he will ask President Trump to revoke the security clearance of former CIA Director John Brennan, who criticized Trump’s performance last week at the Helsinki summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, CNN reports.

Bill Shine’s Power Grows

July 23, 2018 at 9:53 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Jonathan Swan: “Trump has been frustrated that some of his previous appearances on camera have not had the production values of the prime time TV shows he spends so much time watching.”

“Trump frequently complains to aides about the ‘terrible lighting,’ sources who’ve been in the room for his outbursts have told me. Now, instead of taking his grievances out on his chief of staff John Kelly, Trump has his own in-house TV producer to consult.”

“Yes, but: As a senior administration official pointed out to me, Shine’s official role is much larger than being a high-end TV producer. He oversees the entire White House press and communications operations.”