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Hunter Indictment Highlights ‘Personal Relationships’

September 5, 2018 at 2:16 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The criminal indictment issued against Rep. Duncan Hunter and his wife, Margaret, last month alleges years of cavalier spending — luxury resorts, fine dining, tequila shots and more — all paid for with political contributions,” the San Diego Union Tribune reports.

The 47-page document also says Hunter had “personal relationships” with five unnamed individuals.

Defense attorney Gregory Vega objected: “While there may be evidence of infidelity, irresponsibility or alcohol dependence, once properly understood, the underlying facts do not equate to criminal activity.”

Trump Orders West Wing ‘Witch Hunt’

September 5, 2018 at 2:03 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“President Trump, showing his outrage over Bob Woodward’s explosive new book, is ordering a real witch hunt in the West Wing and throughout his administration, asking loyal aides to help determine who cooperated with the book,” CNN reports.

“In Trump’s eyes, what makes or breaks aides who are reported to have made disparaging comments about him is how strongly they push back on the accusations. But he is also taking note of the silence from several other former administration officials.”

Alex Jones Confronts Marco Rubio

September 5, 2018 at 1:42 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Alex Jones confronted Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) as he was talking to reporters and touched his shoulder… which sparked a very heated exchange.

IRS Raises Tax Brackets. Scammers Raise Their Game.

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Extra Bonus Quote of the Day

September 5, 2018 at 1:29 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“I had a business dispute with Mueller before that. I had a real business dispute. And he’s Comey’s best friend. And I could give you 100 pictures of him and Comey hugging and kissing each other. You know, he’s Comey’s best friend.”

— President Trump, explaining to the Daily Caller why he didn’t pick Robert Mueller as FBI Director.

Jerome Corsi Subpoenaed by Mueller

September 5, 2018 at 1:22 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Jerome Corsi, a conspiracy theorist and political commentator with connections to the former Trump adviser Roger Stone, has been subpoenaed to testify on Friday before the grand jury in the special counsel investigation into Russia’s election interference and whether Trump associates conspired with the effort,” the New York Times reports.

“Mr. Mueller’s team appears to be zeroing in on Mr. Stone as a possible nexus between the Trump campaign and WikiLeaks, which was used by Russian intelligence officers to spread information stolen from Democrats.”

Trump Says Protesting Should Not Be Allowed

September 5, 2018 at 12:43 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Commenting at the protests over Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to be on the Supreme Court, President Trump told the Daily Caller that protesting should be illegal.

Said Trump: “I don’t know why they don’t take care of a situation like that. I think it’s embarrassing for the country to allow protesters. You don’t even know what side the protesters are on.”

He added: “In the old days, we used to throw them out. Today, I guess they just keep screaming.”

Bonus Quote of the Day

September 5, 2018 at 12:35 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“You had a chance, and you lost. If you want to pick judges from your way of thinking, then you better win an election.”

— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), quoted by the Washington Post, chastising Democrats for raising objections at Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing.

Florida Senate Race Is a Dead Heat

September 5, 2018 at 12:34 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Quinnipiac poll in Florida finds Sen. Bill Nelson (D) and Gov. Rick Scott (R) locked in a 49% to 49% dead heat among likely voters in the U.S. Senate race.

Said pollster Peter Brown: “The campaign is a prototype of our nation’s political environment: Nelson carries women and black voters, while Scott wins among men and white voters. The key in close elections like this one often lies with independent voters. So far, Sen. Nelson has the edge with this swing group. The candidate who holds those voters in November is likely to win.”

Nielsen Calls Out Putin for ‘Attack’ on U.S. Elections

September 5, 2018 at 12:32 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen called out Russian President Vladimir Putin by name for interfering in the 2016 US election, calling it a “direct attack” on U.S. democracy, CNN reports.

Said Nielsen: “At Vladimir Putin’s direction, Moscow launched a brazen, multi-faceted influence campaign to undermine public faith in our democratic process and to distort our presidential election. Although no actual ballots were altered by this campaign, make no mistake: This was a direct attack on our democracy.”

Trump Approval Drop Could be Disaster for GOP

September 5, 2018 at 11:53 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Harry Enten: “A new ABC News/Washington Post poll puts President Donald Trump’s approval rating at just 36%. An IBD/TIPP poll also puts the President’s approval rating at 36%. Finally, a Kaiser Family Foundation poll gives Trump an approval rating of 37%. All three are declines from the last poll by each pollster, which had Trump’s approval rating in the low 40s.”

“We don’t know if this is the beginning of a trend or not. Three polls are just three polls, though Trump’s approval rating has declined to its lowest level since April, according to the FiveThirtyEight and RealClearPolitics trackers. Still, the President’s approval rating did not shift in Gallup’s weekly tracker.”

“But if there is a trend emerging of Trump’s approval rating dropping into the 30s, it’s very bad news for House Republicans heading into the midterm elections.”

Quote of the Day

September 5, 2018 at 10:52 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“I’m not going to sit there and let him look like an idiot. And you publish that transcript, because everything leaks in Washington, and the guys overseas are going to say, ‘I told you he was an idiot. I told you he was a goddamn dumbbell. What are we dealing with this idiot for?'”

— Trump personal lawyer John Dowd, quoted in Bob Woodward’s Fear, explaining to special counsel Robert Mueller that letting President Trump testify could be a national security risk.

Trump Backs Off Shutdown Threat

September 5, 2018 at 10:46 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump “said he was unlikely to shut down the federal government ahead of the Nov. 6 midterm elections over funding the construction of a southern border wall as part of his controversial immigration plan,” Reuters reports.

Said Trump: “I don’t like the idea of shutdowns. I don’t see even myself or anybody else closing down the country right now.”

Group Bought Ads Posing as Russian Trolls

September 5, 2018 at 10:02 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

BuzzFeed: “Researchers from the advocacy group the Campaign for Accountability — which has frequently targeted Google with its ‘transparency project’ investigations and has received funding from Google competitor Oracle — posed as Kremlin-linked trolls and successfully purchased divisive online ads using Google’s ad platform and targeted them toward Americans. In an attempt to trigger Google’s safeguards against such efforts, the researchers purchased the advertisements using the name and identifying details of the Internet Research Agency — a Kremlin-linked troll farm that’s been the subject of numerous congressional hearings.

“The advertisements appeared on the YouTube channels and websites of media brands like CNN, CBS This Morning, HuffPost, and the Daily Beast. … The ads used language and images identical to that of Russia’s Internet Research Agency troll farm.”

Democrats Do Not Have a ‘Tea Party’ Problem

September 5, 2018 at 9:52 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

This piece is only available to Political Wire members.

Last night’s primary upset in Massachusetts, where Ayanna Pressley (D) handily defeated Rep. Michael Capuano (D-MA), has been compared this morning to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D) surprise victory over Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY) earlier this summer, but the differences are pretty important.

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Pulling Back the Curtain on ‘Crazytown’

September 5, 2018 at 9:43 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “Nothing in Bob Woodward’s sober and grainy new book, Fear: Trump in the White House, is especially surprising. This is a White House that has leaked from Day 1. We knew things were bad. Woodward is here, like a state trooper knocking on the door at 3 a.m., to update the sorry details.”

“Fear is a typical Woodward book in that named sources for scenes, memories, thoughts and quotations appear only sometimes. Woodward has never been a graceful writer, but the prose here is unusually hapless. It’s as if he wants to make a statement that, at this historical juncture, simple factual pine-board competence should suffice.”

“The critic Clive James once complained that Woodward ‘checks his facts until they weep with boredom.’ Well, fact-checking and boredom seem sexy again. Even weeping is making a comeback.”

First Read: “How is there any trust left at the White House — after this book, Michael Wolff’s, Omarosa’s and other tell-alls?”

Begich Will Stay In Alaska Governor’s Race

September 5, 2018 at 9:13 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“A three-way race for governor of Alaska is underway as the Democratic candidate announced he’s sticking with the race Tuesday afternoon,” KTUU reports.

“Democrat Mark Begich held a press conference Tuesday to announce that he will stick with his campaign for governor. His announcement comes on the last day for candidates to withdraw their names from the November general election ballot.”

Anchorage Daily News: “Begich is facing off against incumbent Gov. Bill Walker, an independent, and former state Sen. Mike Dunleavy, a Republican. Some Democrats have said they’re concerned Begich and Walker will split the vote, resulting in a Dunleavy win. Walker is a Republican-turned-independent, who is running again this year with his Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott, a Democrat.”

Obama Hits the Campaign Trail

September 5, 2018 at 9:05 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Former President Barack Obama “is poised to plunge into the fray of the midterm campaign, returning to electoral politics with a frontal attack on Republican power in two states that are prime Democratic targets this fall: California and Ohio,” the New York Times reports.

“Having largely avoided campaign activities since leaving office, Mr. Obama’s first public event of the midterm election will take place in Orange County, a traditionally conservative-leaning part of California where Republicans are at risk of losing several House seats. And Mr. Obama is expected to be joined by Democratic candidates from all seven of California’s Republican-held districts that Hillary Clinton carried in 2016.”

White House Completely Unprepared for Woodward’s Book

September 5, 2018 at 8:50 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Jonathan Swan: “The White House was caught flat-footed by the explosive content in Fear, Bob Woodward’s new book on the Trump administration, as nobody on senior staff had seen a copy when the Washington Post published the explosive excerpts yesterday.”

“White House officials have finally obtained a copy and are now poring over it, but as the day rolled on yesterday, staff met to discuss strategies to push back — all while President Trump’s mood worsened and TV coverage shifted from Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings to the book.”

Said one source: “The problem is his credibility. They know they can’t give him the Michael Wolff treatment.”

First Read: “It’s clear Trump and the White House are worried about this new book; Trump has tweeted eight times about it since 6:30 pm ET last night.”