“Russia’s information attack against the United States during the 2016 election cycle sought to take advantage of the greater trust that Americans tend to place in local news,” NPR reports.
“The information operatives who worked out of the Internet Research Agency in St. Petersburg not only sought to pose as American social media users or spread false information from purported news sources… They also created a number of Twitter accounts that posed as sources for Americans’ hometown headlines.
“About 20 career staff have quit the U.S. Treasury Department’s international affairs unit in less than a year, draining resources from a key office in the Trump administration’s escalating trade battles with China and Europe,” Bloomberg reports.
“The wave of departures began in September, shortly after David Malpass — a champion of President Trump’s protectionist message — took over the division. The unit employed about 200 people at the end of the Barack Obama administration.”
“Republicans sparred with FBI agent Peter Strzok from the very first question at a hearing Thursday over politically charged investigations, threatening him with a contempt citation for refusing, at the direction of an FBI lawyer, not to answer questions about the ongoing investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election,” the Washington Post reports.
“Strzok, who was the lead agent on FBI probes into Hillary Clinton and the Trump campaign and is now the subject of an internal misconduct probe, was asked by Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, how many individuals he interviewed in the first week of the Russia probe in the summer of 2016. He declined to answer.”
“Democrats immediately accused Republicans of treating Strzok unfairly and asked that the hearing be adjourned.”
The Fix highlights several key parts of the hearing.
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“I have the utmost respect for Congress’s oversight role, but I truly believe that today’s hearing is just another victory notch in Putin’s belt and another milestone in our enemies’ campaign to tear America apart.”
— FBI agent Peter Strzok, quoted by the New York Times, rejecting accusations that he let his private political views bias his official actions and criticizing Republican attacks on him.
On her show last night, Rachel Maddow told the incredible story of the FBI spying on Russian spies in the U.S., “Donald Heathfield” and “Tracey Foley,” and notes that Peter Strzok led many of those operations — the same Peter Strzok that Republicans are trying to smear in order to discredit the Mueller investigation.
It’s an extraordinary segment.
Strzok is testifying today before a joint hearing of two House committees responsible for FBI and Justice Department oversight.
A new Washington Post-Schar School poll finds Americans are nearly split, 49% approving and 45% disapproving of the way special counsel Robert Mueller is handling the investigation into possible ties between Trump’s presidential campaign and the Russian government.
What’s more, 48% say the question of whether Trump’s campaign colluded with Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election is a “serious issue,” while an identical 48% say it’s “more of a distraction.”
“This weekend, President Trump will take a break from visiting heads of state in Europe and detour to this tiny village in Scotland — so he can visit a luxury golf resort named after himself.” the Washington Post reports.
“The side trip will allow Trump the president a chance to shine an international spotlight on Trump the brand… But the visit will also highlight a challenge facing many Trump properties since his election. They were built on the premise that the Trump name symbolizes lavish hospitality, but are now trying to survive in an era in which it represents the opposite of hospitality to many in the United States and abroad.”
What a nice email to start the day:
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“A top super PAC backed by House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) raised $51 million during the second fundraising quarter as Republicans look to keep their House majority in November,” the Washington Examiner reports.
“The Congressional Leadership Fund, an outside group dedicated to keeping the House in Republican control, announced that they have raised $93 million during the entire 2018 cycle and have $71 million in cash on hand less than four months until Election Day.”
French President Emmanuel Macron has denied President Trump’s claim that NATO allies have agreed to boost defense spending beyond 2 percent of gross domestic product, the AP reports.
Said Macron: “There is a communique that was published yesterday. It’s very detailed. It confirms the goal of 2 percent by 2024. That’s all.”
Macron also denied reports that Trump threatened to withdraw the United States from the NATO military alliance in a dispute over funding.
A new Gallup poll finds that 64% of Americans believe the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision on abortion should stand, while 28% would like to see it overturned.
“Partisans’ opinions are sharply polarized, with 81% of Democrats, 70% of independents and 41% of Republicans saying they do not want Roe v. Wade overturned. In contrast, 51% of Republicans, 22% of independents and 13% of Democrats want it reversed.”
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) “is quietly lining up votes to succeed Paul Ryan as speaker, reaching out to key lawmakers across the Republican Conference and asking whether they will commit to back him as speaker next January,” Politico reports.
“In public, McCarthy says he’s not campaigning for the job, saying it’s more important to focus on saving the Republican majority in the House than a campaign for the top leadership post. Yet running for speaker is precisely what McCarthy is doing.”
Stormy Daniels “was arrested early Thursday at an Ohio strip club for allegedly touching patrons on stage in violation of state law,” CNN reports.
“When officers witnessed those activities, three detectives approached the stage. Daniels allegedly made her way toward two detectives, leaned over and grabbed their faces. She shoved each of their faces between her breasts.”
Said attorney Michael Avenatti: “This was a setup and politically motivated. It reeks of desperation. We will fight all bogus charges.”
According to telephone calls being monitored by special counsel Robert Mueller’s team, Paul Manafort has recently told people he’s being treated like a ‘VIP’ at the Virginia prison where he’s been held since June 15, Politico reports.
“The longtime GOP operative’s living arrangements, described in an eight-page motion filed Wednesday by Mueller’s prosecutors, also include ‘unique privileges’ like a private, self-contained cell that’s bigger than what other inmates get, a private bathroom and shower, a personal telephone and daily access between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 10 p.m. to a workspace where Manafort can meet with his lawyers and prepare for his upcoming criminal trials. Manafort also doesn’t have to wear a prison uniform.”
“North Korean officials didn’t show up for a planned meeting with U.S. counterparts to discuss returning the remains of American war dead… in the latest sign of tensions between the two sides,” Bloomberg reports.
“U.S. negotiators arrived Thursday at the militarized border between the two Koreas as previously announced by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and were kept waiting,”
“President Trump wants to update the paint job on the next version of Air Force One, ditching the iconic robin’s-egg blue (which he calls a ‘Jackie Kennedy color’) for a bolder, ‘more American’ look,” Axios reports.
President Trump “strongly recommitted American support for NATO,” saying that he “had won great concessions from allies on military spending, though he did not offer any details,” the New York Times reports.
Said Trump: “The United States was not being treated fairly, but now we are. I told people that I’d be very unhappy if they did not up their commitments very substantially.”
“But if his public remarks were friendly, the tone behind closed doors was much harsher.”
President Trump again called himself a “very stable genius” after a Croatian reporter asked at the NATO summit if he’d change his tone on Twitter regarding the alliance once he’d left, Axios reports.
Said Trump: “No, that’s other people that do that. I don’t. I’m very consistent. I’m a very stable genius.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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