BuzzFeed News: “The emails document two days of the aftermath of an unusual, and seemingly sudden, statement released by the White House late on the night of June 26 last year. It warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that he and his military would ‘pay a heavy price’ if they carried out another chemical weapons attack… But the channels at the Pentagon that usually would have coordinated such a release were in the dark.”
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Trump Punts on Three Problems Until After Midterms
James Hohmann: “Responding to the pleas of Republican congressional leaders, President Trump appeared willing on Wednesday to temporarily back off three of his top priorities in a bid to save GOP majorities in the midterms.”
“The president moved to de-escalate his unpopular trade war, signaled that he’s no longer committed to shut down the federal government in October if the border wall isn’t fully funded and reluctantly relented on his rapprochement with Russia. After inviting Vladimir Putin to visit Washington in the fall with fanfare last week, the White House announced yesterday that he won’t come until 2019.”
“Taken together, these developments reflect the degree to which official Washington has begun shifting into full-on campaign mode with just over 100 days left until the fall elections and the palpable fear among top Republicans that they will lose the House unless the current trajectory changes.”
GOP Lawmakers Pitch Plan to Avoid Shutdown
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan “presented a government spending strategy intended to minimize the threat of a politically debilitating government funding lapse over border wall funding. And Trump seemed receptive,” Politico reports.
“Trump made clear to the GOP leaders that he still wants a $5 billion down payment on his wall this year, but he signaled to the leaders that he might be willing to wage that fight after the midterms. Though the House plans to pass a spending bill giving Trump $5 billion for the wall, Senate Democrats are unlikely to agree to fund more than the $1.6 billion initially requested by the Trump administration — meaning any attempt to fund the Department of Homeland Security could lead to a shutdown.”
James Hohmann: “To be sure, Trump changes his mind all the time. And just because he agrees to something today does not mean he won’t change his mind tomorrow. He’s officially endorsed bills, for example, only to equivocate after seeing a negative segment on Fox News.”
CNN Derangement Syndrome
Weekly Standard: “Banning a reporter from an open-press White House event is virtually unheard of. We can recall only one—Robert Sherrill, correspondent for the Nation, who was denied a security clearance by Secret Service during the Johnson administration because he had once punched the press secretary for the governor of Florida. Probably LBJ just didn’t want him around. Before and since then, presidents of both parties have suffered not just hostile reporters but crackpots and weirdos attending White House press events.”
“We have not seen video of the disputed press pool encounter, but we don’t need to. Collins’s allegedly ‘disrespectful’ questions weren’t the reason for her disinvitation. The reason was her employer, CNN, which the president regards not merely as untrustworthy or hostile but as deeply sinister.”
The Latest Generic Congressional Ballot Polls
Here’s a quick round up:
- Quinnipiac: Democrats 51%, Republicans 39%
- Economist/YouGov: Democrats 44%, Republicans 38%
- NPR/PBS/Marist: Democrats 47%, Republicans 40%
- Reuters/Ipsos: Democrats 42%, Republicans 37%
- NBC News/Wall Street Journal: Democrats 49%, Republicans 37%
For comparison, the FiveThirtyEight polling average shows Democrats leading 48% to 40%.
Yacht Owned by DeVos Set Adrift by Vandals
A 163-foot yacht worth a reported $40 million and owned by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos was vandalized over the weekend and set adrift, the Toledo Blade reports.
“The crew eventually got control of the yacht, but not before it struck the dock, causing an estimated $5,000 to $10,000 in damage from large scratches and scrapes… Officers were searching for surveillance video that may show who untied the yacht.”
Democratic Group Will Spend Big In Red States
“A heavily funded Democratic group will spend tens of millions of dollars to mobilize voters in the Republican-leaning states where control of the Senate is likely to be decided this November, stepping in to fill a void left by years of decay in Democratic infrastructure at the state and local level,” the New York Times reports.
“Senate Majority PAC, the principal ‘super PAC’ supporting Democratic efforts to capture the chamber, intends to steer at least $20 million into the voter-mobilization campaign ahead of the midterm elections, officials with the group confirmed. The program, which follows a similar — successful — Democratic effort in Alabama last year, underscores the degree to which outside groups that can take massive donations have supplanted the traditional role of political parties.”
Iranian General Warns Trump
Iran’s Quds force chief Qassem Soleimani warned President Trump against war, saying it would “destroy all that you possess”, Reuters reports.
Said Soleimani: “You know that this war will destroy all that you possess. You will start this war but we will be the ones to impose its end. Therefore you have to be careful about insulting the Iranian people and the president of our Republic.”
Bannon Plots with Boris Johnson
“Donald Trump’s former chief adviser Steve Bannon has been in direct communication with former UK foreign secretary Boris Johnson, as both men plot new moves that could have a significant impact on European politics,” multiple sources told BuzzFeed News.
“A source who spent time with Bannon during the trip said Bannon was in private contact with Johnson while he was in Britain… A former UK government source told BuzzFeed News that Bannon and Johnson have known each other for some time, and exchanged text messages as far back as when Johnson was foreign secretary and Bannon worked in the White House.”
Deported Migrants Were Not Asked About Leaving Children
“Homeland Security officials may have neglected to give a choice to as many as three-quarters of all migrant parents removed from the United States about leaving their children behind, contradicting repeated public assurances from Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen,” Politico reports.
“The Trump administration failed to document consent in most such cases… That lapse increased the number of departed parents whom officials must now find and contact about whether they wish to be reunited with their children, and, if so, figure out the logistics of how to bring them together.”
House Freedom Caucus Reacts on Schedule
Playbook makes a good observation about the House Freedom Caucus effort to impeach Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein:
“The HFC always does something like this right before the August recess. They tried to boot John Boehner, they tried to push out the IRS commissioner, they tried to force a repeal of Obamacare and this year, they are trying to push out the deputy attorney general. They say they are responding to legitimate issues. Their detractors say they’re trying to raise money and split Republicans.”
Inside Trump’s Cozy Relationship with the Enquirer
Wall Street Journal: “In previously unreported interactions, some of which are memorialized in emails now under review, Mr. Cohen mediated a dispute between Omarosa Manigault-Newman, who had been a star on Mr. Trump’s ‘Apprentice’ reality TV show, and the Enquirer over a story about her brother’s murder. He intervened in a separate legal case on behalf of David Pecker, chief executive of Enquirer parent American Media Inc.”
“And when American Media paid a doorman who alleged that Mr. Trump fathered a child with one of his employees, a company executive ordered reporters to stop investigating after speaking with Mr. Cohen. The revelations show a relationship characterized by mutual benefit and favor-trading on a greater scale than was previously known. The shared history could expose American Media, Mr. Cohen and by extension, Mr. Trump, to criminal campaign-finance charges.”
Jared and Ivanka Settle In
Jonathan Swan: “Friends of Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump tell us they have the strong impression they are now preparing to stay in D.C. as long as the president does, meaning they’ll outlast almost everyone in the West Wing.”
“A White House official with direct knowledge of the situation told Axios that in recent months, Jared and Ivanka have spent a good deal of time with the president in the private dining room adjoining the Oval Office and in the residence. West Wing watchers note that they weren’t accompanied by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, a rival power center to ‘Javanka.'”
Emails Suggest Police Plotted to Arrest Stormy Daniels
The Fayette Advocate “has obtained emails from a whistleblower from inside the Columbus Police Department that outline the arrest of Stormy Daniels earlier this month may have been pre-planned days before she ever arrived in town.”
“Inside the emails are news clippings discussing Daniels’ planned appearance in Columbus, pictures of Daniels with President Donald Trump, videos of her dancing, and even a map to the club where she would be performing, all sent days before she would pull into town on her tour bus.”
“After Daniels’ arrest that Wednesday night, the emails continue into the early morning hours of Thursday, but the contents are disturbing.”
White House Press Corps Shows Unity
CNN: “Journalists reacted with dismay when the Trump administration barred CNN’s Kaitlan Collins from attending a presidential event in the Rose Garden. Two White House officials, Bill Shine and Sarah Sanders, told Collins that she asked ‘inappropriate’ questions during Trump’s meeting with European Commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker. So the ban was retaliatory in nature.”
“And it was deeply concerning to many reporters, even among CNN’s rivals. Fox News issued a statement saying ‘we stand in strong solidarity with CNN for the right to full access for our journalists as part of a free and unfettered press.’”
Cohen Made More Than 100 Recordings
The Washington Post reports that the FBI “has seized more than 100 recordings that Michael Cohen made of his conversations with people discussing matters that could relate to Trump and his businesses and with Trump himself talking.”
GOP Tax Cut Exploding the Deficit
“The amount of corporate taxes collected by the federal government has plunged to historically low levels in the first six months of the year, pushing up the federal budget deficit much faster than economists had predicted,” the New York Times reports.
“The reason is President Trump’s tax cuts. The law introduced a standard corporate rate of 21 percent, down from a high of 35 percent, and allowed companies to immediately deduct many new investments. As companies operate with lower taxes and a greater ability to reduce what they owe, the federal government is receiving far less than it would have before the overhaul.”
Judge Lets Emoluments Lawsuit Move Ahead
“A lawsuit arguing President Trump is violating the Constitution by benefiting from business with foreign governments can proceed, a judge for the U.S. District Court in Maryland ruled Wednesday,” Politico reports.
“The president’s lawyers had sought to dismiss the case, but the motion was denied.”
