Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley (R) announce that his office has uncovered potential criminal wrongdoing by Gov. Eric Greitens (R) and he has turned that evidence over to the St. Louis prosecutor, the Kansas City Star reports.
Hawley said that during the course of an investigation into a charity founded by Greitens, his office “uncovered evidence of wrongdoing that goes beyond Missouri’s charity laws” and indicates “potentially criminal acts were committed by Gov. Eric Greitens.”
“The Internal Revenue Service’s electronic system that allows Americans to submit their tax returns online has partly failed Tuesday, complicating filing for the millions of Americans attempting to meet the midnight deadline,” the Washington Post reports.
A new Triumph Campaigns poll in Mississippi finds Mike Espy (D) and Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) neck and neck in the special election to replace Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS), 33% to 33%. They are followed by Chris McDaniel (R) at 13% and Jason Shelton (D) at 6%.
The special election will not have party primaries and is likely to go to a runoff.
In head-to-head matchups, Hyde-Smith leads Espy, 42% to 36%, while Espy leads McDaniel, 43% to 24%.
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EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt “upgraded his official car last year to a costlier, larger vehicle with bullet-resistant covers over bucket seats,” the Washington Post reports.
“One former EPA official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation, said that Pruitt remarked that he wanted the larger car because it was similar to ones in which some other Cabinet officials rode.”
Justice Neil Gorsuch, President Trump’s selection last year for the Supreme Court, cast the deciding vote in a decision released Tuesday that sided with an immigrant fighting his deportation, The Hill reports.
“Gorsuch ruled with the court’s four liberal justices in favor of the immigrant, James Garcia Dimaya, who argued that his convictions on two burglary charges did not represent a violent crime.”
Rep. Charlie Dent (R-PA) said he has decided to retire from Congress “in the coming weeks,” NBC News reports.
Dent had previously announced that he would not seek re-election this year.
“Donors poured money into GOP coffers in the first part of this year, but their loyalty may be tested in coming months by turmoil at the Republican National Committee after the resignations of two top fundraising officials and a criminal investigation involving a third,” Bloomberg reports.
“Zinke, however, has never held a job as a geologist.”
First Read: “One of the keys to President Trump’s victory in 2016 — and to his overall political survival — has been to claim, essentially: ‘Hey, I’m not Hillary Clinton.’ Indeed, voters who disliked BOTH Clinton and him ended up siding with the Republican in 2016.”
“But that talking point doesn’t work for Trump anymore, even as Clinton remains highly unpopular, according to the latest NBC/WSJ poll… voters who dislike both Hillary and Trump make up 15 percent of voters, and they are more Democratic and prefer the Dems to control Congress.”
“NBC/WSJ co-pollster Bill McInturff (R) says that the bipartisan disapprovers are clearly different voters between 2016 and now, but it’s also clear that they won’t be Republican voters in 2018 – and maybe beyond.”
“From what I’ve heard, from what I’ve seen, there’s no question that Michael Cohen is going to be charged. It’s only a question of when.”
— Michael Avenatti, lawyer for Stormy Daniels, in an interview on Morning Joe.
Josh Rogin: “More than a year into his administration, President Trump still won’t let go of primary-campaign grudges against foreign policy-minded Republicans who want to serve. And as qualified and patriotic Republicans watch how Trump treats those who do sign up, fewer and fewer are willing to come aboard. That dynamic hurts both Trump and our national security.”
“There are plenty of good jobs available. National security adviser John Bolton opened several opportunities in just the past few days — by cleaning house at the top of the National Security Council staff. Mike Pompeo, the nominee to become secretary of state, promised senators at his confirmation hearing last week that he would fill dozens of vacant diplomatic posts as soon as possible. Even at the Pentagon, plenty of top positions are still open.”
“Some of the vacancies are because of the slow confirmation process. Some are the result of infighting within the administration. But during interviews with administration officials and outside Republicans, a theme emerges: This White House makes it too difficult to serve, and treats those who do shabbily.”
“The president of the United States just tweeted that a private citizen should be jailed. And I think the reaction of most of us was: ‘Meh, it’s another one of those things.’ This is not normal. This is not OK. There is a danger that we will become numb to it and we will stop noticing the threats to our norms.”
— Former FBI Director James Comey, in an interview with NPR.
Mike Allen: “Michael Cohen has spent his career making Donald Trump’s problems disappear. Now he’s the problem Trump can’t possibly make vanish.”
“Cohen, unlike Ivanka or the other kids, is the only person on earth intertwined in Trump’s professional, political, personal, legal and family life — the man with secrets few others hold. And, thanks to a court ruling yesterday, many of those secrets, reportedly recorded and emailed, are — or soon will be —in the hands of federal investigators.”
Said a former Trump campaign official: “The guys that know Trump best are the most worried. People are very, very worried. Because it’s Michael [effing] Cohen. Who knows what he’s done?”
“A brewing fight between West Virginia GOP Senate candidate Don Blankenship and national Republicans spilled into the open Monday when the coal baron compared Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell to Russians interfering in his state’s election,” Politico reports.
Said Blankenship” “McConnell should not be in the U.S. Senate, let alone be the Republican Majority Leader. He is a Swamp captain.”
He added: “The Russians and McConnell should both stop interfering with elections outside their jurisdictions. West Virginians are aware that McConnell cannot vote in their election. They want him to mind his own business and do his job. A job he has not done now for over 30 years. Balance the budget Mitch and stay out of West Virginia.”
“A leading Republican super PAC has booked nearly $50 million in midterm advertising to defend threatened suburban battlegrounds as part of a broader strategy to defend the party’s imperiled House majority,” the Washington Examiner reports.
“Congressional Leadership Fund, the super PAC affiliated with outgoing House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) announced the advertising commitments on Tuesday, signaling more air cover was on the way as November draws near. The initial investment is directing $38 million in broadcast and cable television to 20 districts threatened with a Democratic takeover, with another $10 million in digital spots flowing to 30 targeted seats.”
Axios: “This is a huge ad spend for an outside group so early on in the election cycle, and the 50 districts targeted reveal which areas across the country that House Republican leadership are most concerned about come November. Most of the targeted districts align with the Cook Political Report’s “Republican Toss-Up” rating.”
“Mayor Eric Garcetti, fresh off a trip to Iowa to test the waters for a presidential run, delivered a State of the City address Monday that billed Los Angeles as a thriving, progressive metropolis that has hiked the minimum wage, snagged the Olympics, invested in its subway system and is tackling big issues such as climate change and gun violence,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
Said Garcetti: “‘I want to say to anyone who wants to understand who Americans are: Don’t look to D.C. — come to L.A.”
“Senate Republican leaders are pressing ahead with plans for a floor vote on CIA Director Mike Pompeo’s nomination as secretary of state as soon as next week, despite the prospect of his getting an unfavorable recommendation in committee,” Politico reports.
“After a confirmation hearing marked by contentious exchanges with Democrats on the Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) — one of 15 members of the minority who backed Pompeo to lead the CIA — became the fifth Democrat on the panel to announce he would vote no. Coupled with opposition from Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), unified resistance to Pompeo from the committee’s 10 Democrats would deal him an unfavorable recommendation, but top Republicans are still vowing to ensure his confirmation.”
“Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY) — buoyed by a caucus thirsty for change and his rising national profile — is angling to become the next House Democratic leader if Nancy Pelosi and other top Democrats fall short,” Politico reports.
“Whether Democrats win the House majority or not, the affable Queens party boss and current Democratic Caucus chairman would have to first go through the party’s long-time septuagenarian leaders — Pelosi, Steny Hoyer and Jim Clyburn — who’ve shown no hurry to head for the exits. In fact, the three have already started sending strong signals that if Democrats take the House they’re prepared to beat back a younger generation clamoring for new leaders.”
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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