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Backchannel to Trump for Sale

May 21, 2018 at 5:56 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Associated Press: “Trump fundraiser Elliot Broidy and his business partner, Lebanese-American George Nader, pitched themselves to the crown princes as a backchannel to the White House, passing the princes’ praise — and messaging — straight to the president’s ears. Now, in December 2017, Broidy was ready to be rewarded for all his hard work. It was time to cash in.”

“In return for pushing anti-Qatar policies at the highest levels of America’s government, Elliot Broidy and George Nader expected huge consulting contracts from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, according to an Associated Press investigation based on interviews with more than two dozen people and hundreds of pages of leaked emails between the two men. The emails reviewed by the AP included work summaries and contracting documents and proposals.”

Navarro Pushed Suspected FBI Informant for Trump Job

May 21, 2018 at 4:52 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump’s top trade adviser, Peter Navarro, “recommended appointing Stefan Halper, an academic and suspected FBI informant on the Trump campaign, to a senior role in the Trump administration,” Axios has learned.

“During the transition everyone involved in Trump’s presidential campaign were asked to submit resumes for administration positions. Halper, who already knew Navarro in the context of being a China scholar and interviewing for his anti-China book and film, pitched himself for an ambassadorship in Asia… Navarro says he submitted Halper’s name for the Asian ambassadorship — we have not been able to confirm the country — along with around a dozen other people for roles in the region.”

Mulvaney Wants Ryan to Step Down

May 21, 2018 at 4:16 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

White House budget director Mick Mulvaney “strongly endorsed the idea that House speaker Paul Ryan should step down in order to trigger an election that would force House Democrats to vote for unpopular Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi,” the Weekly Standard reports.

Said Mulvaney: “I’ve talked with Kevin about this privately but not as much publicly. Wouldn’t it be great to force a Democrat running in a tight race to have to put up or shut up about voting for Nancy Pelosi eight weeks before an election? That’s a really, really good vote for us to force if we can figure out how to do it.”

Bonus Quote of the Day

May 21, 2018 at 12:37 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“I wouldn’t trust his silly ass to pour piss out of a boot if the instructions were written on the heel.”

— Former Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), quoted by E&E News, on President Trump.

Obamas Will Produce Shows for Netflix

May 21, 2018 at 12:19 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Former President Obama formally announced “a multiyear production deal with Netflix in which he and the former first lady, Michelle Obama, will produce television shows and films for the streaming service,” the New York Times reports.

“The deal will give Mr. Obama an international television platform during his post-presidency, allowing him to reach millions of people in the United States and internationally. The couple has created ‘Higher Ground Productions,’ a company to produce content for Netflix, the streaming service announced.”

Variety: “It is unknown how much the Obamas’ Netflix agreement is worth. In March, Penguin Random House signed the couple to a joint book deal that pays them a reported $65 million for their respective memoirs.”

Why Is Trump Freaking Out Now?

May 21, 2018 at 12:10 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Jonathan Chait: “This weekend, the New York Times revealed that, in August 2016, Donald Trump Jr. met in Trump Tower with representatives of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who offered campaign help… The deeper question is how closely related the Gulf story is to the heart of the Russia question. Was it just another one of Donald Jr.’s legal misadventures? Or did Nader, Prince, and the Gulf States play a central role in facilitating a corrupt deal with Russia?”

“Trump’s furious lashing out, including his reckless escalation of a crisis with the Department of Justice this weekend, provides interesting clues. Trump has no poker face, no chill. The closer the investigators get to incriminating evidence, the more intensely he rages. He resembles a suspect at a crime scene screaming at the police not to go into the attic. And now that attic is looking awfully interesting.”

First Read: “Don’t get distracted — that reporting of a second Trump Tower meeting in 2016 was the biggest news from the weekend.”

19 Ratings Changes All Towards Democrats

May 21, 2018 at 12:06 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“After the latest round of changes, Inside Elections now has 68 Republican seats rated as vulnerable compared to just 10 vulnerable Democratic seats. And there are at least a couple dozen more GOP-held seats that could develop into competitive races in the months ahead.”

“That discrepancy in the playing field is reminiscent of previous ‘wave’ elections. In April 2010, there were 68 vulnerable Democratic House seats and 11 vulnerable Republican seats. Republicans gained 63 seats later than year. And in May 2006, there were 42 vulnerable Republican seats and 11 vulnerable Democratic seats. Six months later, Democrats gained 30 seats.”

Six Months to the Midterms… What Do We Know?

May 21, 2018 at 11:28 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report joins Chris Riback for a good discussion of the 2018 midterm elections.

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Thanks to the Cook Political Report for sponsoring this episode.

Giuliani Made Up September 1 Deadline

May 21, 2018 at 11:11 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rudy Giuliani was quoted over the weekend saying that special counsel Robert Mueller told him the investigation would wrap up by September 1, but a source familiar with the probe tells Reuters that the deadline was “entirely made-up” and “another apparent effort to pressure the special counsel to hasten the end of his work.”

Said the source: “He’ll wrap it up when he thinks he’s turned over every rock, and when that is will depend on how cooperative witnesses, persons of interest and maybe even some targets are, if any of those emerge, and on what new evidence he finds, not on some arbitrary, first-of-the-month deadline one of the president’s attorneys cooks up.”

Trump Was Actually Warned Ahead of FBI ‘Infiltration’

May 21, 2018 at 10:15 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

This piece is only available to Political Wire members.

As President Trump calls for an investigation into whether the FBI “infiltrated” his campaign in a supposedly nefarious plot, some of his defenders suggest that if the FBI wasn’t out to “get him” they would have at least tried to warn him.

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‘Window Peeping’ Charges Surface In North Dakota Race

May 21, 2018 at 9:48 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Will Gardner (R), the Republican-endorsed candidate for North Dakota secretary of state, dropped out of the race after the Fargo Forum reported on his 2006 “window-peeping incident” on the North Dakota State University campus.

“Gardner pleaded guilty in February 2006 to disorderly conduct… in which an NDSU security guard said he saw Gardner look through windows at women in a freshman dormitory. According to court documents, officers said Gardner’s pants were unzipped and his shirt front was pulled out… He also said he had watched only one woman undress, though court documents suggested officers witnessed him moving to multiple windows to look into occupied rooms.”

Clinton to Endorse Cuomo for New York Governor

May 21, 2018 at 9:29 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Hillary Clinton is expected to break her virtual hiatus from the campaign trail this week, when she will endorse Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York in a contested Democratic primary — a move sure to enrage liberal activists seeking Mr. Cuomo’s ouster at the hands of Cynthia Nixon, the actress turned progressive insurgent,” the New York Times reports.

“Mrs. Clinton has also recorded an automated phone call endorsing Stacey Abrams, the former Democratic leader in the Georgia House, who is competing for the party’s nomination for governor on Tuesday.”

Democrats Will Turn Focus to Trump Corruption

May 21, 2018 at 9:02 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Democrats are preparing to highlight allegations of corruption surrounding the Trump administration — and a legislative agenda to prevent future abuses — as they continue rolling out their party platform ahead of November’s midterm elections,” the Washington Post reports.

“The new Democratic focus on corruption as a campaign message marks a return to a formula that helped put Democrats into the House majority in the 2006 midterm elections — after numerous scandals including the Jack Abramoff and Duke Cunningham revelations put pay-to-play politics on the public’s political radar in a big way. Polling done after the election showed that the tide of corruption helped swing votes to Democrats, and the party’s official now sees signs of similar concerns among voters.”

Quote of the Day

May 21, 2018 at 8:57 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“It means calling out actual ‘fake news’ when we see it, and supporting brave journalists and their reporting, maybe even by subscribing to a newspaper.”

— Hillary Clinton, speaking about “democratic resilience” at Yale’s Class Day over the weekend.

Blankenship to Wage Third Party Bid

May 21, 2018 at 8:50 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“West Virginia coal baron and former prisoner Don Blankenship announced on Monday that he plans to launch a long-shot third-party Senate bid after finishing a distant third in this month’s Republican primary,” Politico reports.

“Blankenship said he would run in the general election as the Constitution Party nominee. But he would need to overcome a ‘sore loser’ law in West Virginia that prevents failed candidates in a main-party primary from refiling to run in the general election under another party’s banner.”

“Blankenship said he’s prepared to challenge that law in court if needed.”

Flynn Allies Try to Exonerate Him Despite Guilty Plea

May 21, 2018 at 8:47 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Friends and family of former national security adviser Michael Flynn are waging a campaign to try to exonerate the retired lieutenant general — and, possibly, land him a presidential pardon,” the Washington Post reports.

“But the largely social-media-based effort has, at times, put Flynn’s advocates, and occasionally Flynn, at odds with his own legal team, which believes that any public attention to Flynn’s case is not helpful as he awaits sentencing and has counseled that he and his family to remain quiet.”

Kennedy Retirement Rumors Swirl Once Again

May 21, 2018 at 8:16 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The Hill: “All eyes are on Justice Anthony Kennedy, 81, who reportedly considered calling it quits last spring. As the court’s current term winds to a close, speculation about his plans has again swept the capital, with court watchers searching for clues.”

“Those who say Kennedy is here to stay — at least for now — point to the fact that he’s already hired his law clerks for the next term, as Above the Law reported.”

Impeachment Push Could Backfire on Democrats

May 21, 2018 at 7:21 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Jeffrey Toobin: “According to Quinnipiac, seventy-one per cent of Democrats already favor impeachment. To proponents, a nearly fifty-fifty split among the voting public at this early date, before Mueller has reported his findings, is significant. In primaries for the 2018 elections, some prominent Democrats, such as Gavin Newsom, the lieutenant governor of California, who is running for governor, made support for impeachment a major part of their platforms. Tom Steyer, a San Francisco billionaire, has since last year been running television advertisements supporting impeachment, and has generated a mailing list of more than 5.2 million people. Steyer is now on a thirty-city speaking tour.”

“For the moment, he and his followers are outcasts from the Washington consensus. But their passion, and the mounting evidence against the President, raises the question of whether the drive for impeachment is more likely to result in Trump’s removal from office or in a Democratic civil war.”