Associated Press: “With the first primaries of the 2018 elections less than a month away, you might expect federal officials to be wrapping up efforts to safeguard the vote against expected Russian interference.”
“You’d be wrong.”
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Pence Claims U.S. Intel Says Russia Didn’t Impact Election
Vice President Mike Pence told Axios that U.S. intelligence has determined that Russian meddling in the 2016 election did not affect the outcome.
Said Pence: “Irrespective of efforts that were made in 2016 by foreign powers, it is the universal conclusion of our intelligence communities that none of those efforts had any impact on the outcome of the 2016 election.”
Jonathan Chait: “This is unequivocally false… If you think about this question, it’s completely obvious that they couldn’t rule in or out the possibility that Russia changed the election outcome. It’s not just impossible for an intelligence agency to determine this. It’s impossible for anybody to determine it.”
Kasich Mulls Independent Bid for President
Gov. John Kasich’s (R) “brand is built around the idea of ‘two paths’ for the Republican Party: one for center-right pragmatists like him, the other for flamethrowers like Donald Trump,” BuzzFeed News reports.
“But as the Ohio governor considers a rematch with Trump in 2020, he is weighing two more-tactical paths. Does he challenge Trump, the sitting president, in primaries where Kasich won’t find much institutional GOP support? Or does he leave the party, go down a route littered with ballot-access hurdles and fundraising challenges, and run as an independent?”
“Sources close to Kasich’s political team have told BuzzFeed News in recent weeks that both options are in play.”
Priebus Opens Up About His Time in the White House
Former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus confirms to Vanity Fair the media’s portrayal of a White House in disarray and riven by conflict: “Take everything you’ve heard and multiply it by 50.”
Here’s how he describes the aftermath of President Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey:
While Priebus and Bannon watched the fiasco explode as the pundits excoriated the Trump White House on every cable news show, Kushner did a slow burn. He was livid, furious that the communications team could not defend Comey’s firing. Bannon blew his stack. “There’s not a fucking thing you can do to sell this!,” he shouted at Kushner. “Nobody can sell this! P. T. Barnum couldn’t sell this! People aren’t stupid! This is a terrible, stupid decision that’s going to have massive implications. It may have shortened Trump’s presidency—and it’s because of you, Jared Kushner!”
The screaming matches and white-knuckle showdowns continued. Eight days later, Priebus got an unexpected visit from the White House counsel—a story he has not told publicly before. “Don McGahn came in my office pretty hot, red, out of breath, and said, ‘We’ve got a problem.’ I responded, ‘What?’ And he said, ‘Well, we just got a special counsel, and [Attorney General Jeff] Sessions just resigned.’ I said, ‘What!? What the hell are you talking about?’ ”
The piece is an adaptation from the forthcoming paperback edition of The Gatekeepers by Chris Whipple.
Pruitt Justifies His First Class Air Travel
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt “has broken months of silence about his frequent premium-class flights at taxpayer expense, saying he needs to fly first class because of unpleasant interactions with other travelers,” the AP reports.
Said Pruitt: “We live in a very toxic environment politically, particularly around issues of the environment. We’ve reached the point where there’s not much civility in the marketplace and it’s created, you know, it’s created some issues and the (security) detail, the level of protection is determined by the level of threat.”
Trump Says He’s ‘Totally Opposed’ to Domestic Violence
President Trump declared he is “totally opposed to domestic violence of any kind” as the White House sought to tamp down growing controversy surrounding former aide Rob Porter who resigned last week after facing allegations that he had abused his two ex-wives, the Washington Post reports.
Said Trump: “I’m totally opposed to domestic violence of any kind. Everyone knows that. And it almost wouldn’t even have to be said. So, now you hear it, but you all know.”
He declined to answer any follow up questions.
Trump Endorses 25-Cent Gas Tax
Jonathan Swan: “President Trump endorsed a 25-cent gas tax hike to pay for infrastructure at a White House meeting this morning with senior administration officials and members of Congress from both parties… Trump also said he was open to other ways to pay for infrastructure.”
“Trump’s gas tax idea appears dead on arrival. Republicans aren’t about to hike taxes for the Trump voters driving their pickup trucks to work every day.”
Utah GOP Chairman Slams Mitt Romney
Utah Republican Party chairman Rob Anderson blasted Mitt Romney’s anticipated Senate run in an interview with the Salt Lake Tribune, hitting him for “essentially doing what Hillary Clinton did in New York” — campaigning in a state he hasn’t spent much time in.
Said Anderson: “I think he’s keeping out candidates that I think would be a better fit for Utah because, let’s face it, Mitt Romney doesn’t live here, his kids weren’t born here, he doesn’t shop here.”
Stormy Daniels Claims She’s Now Free to Talk
Sources close to Stormy Daniels tell The Blast that her legal team notified President Trump’s legal team, including attorney Michael Cohen, that they are in violation of the agreement they made back in 2016.
Daniels is apparently “ready to spill all the tea regarding her alleged affair with Donald Trump” because Cohen allegedly breached the contract he negotiated with the porn star.
A manager for the adult film actress confirmed to the Associated Press that Daniels believes Trump’s lawyer invalidated a non-disclosure agreement by publicly discussing the payment.
Official Resigns After Not Being Granted Clearance
George David Banks, a senior official on the National Economic Council, “resigned after being informed that he would not receive a permanent security clearance, as the White House faces increasing scrutiny over the number of high-ranking officials allowed to work on interim clearances,” Politico reports.
Banks “was informed by the White House counsel’s office Tuesday that his application for a permanent clearance would not be granted over his past marijuana use.”
Warren Addresses Claims of Native American Heritage
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) “made a surprise appearance at the National Congress of American Indians Wednesday morning, forcefully responding to President Trump’s derisively calling her ‘Pocahontas’ and addressing her claims of Native American heritage more directly — and far more expansively — than she ever has before,” the Boston Globe reports.
“She did not apologize for her claims that her mother’s family had Cherokee blood… But she also planned to tell the gathered tribal leaders from around the country that she understood the distinction of being a member of a tribe, and that while it was part of her heritage, she was not a tribal member.”
Trump’s Military Parade Could Cost $30 Million
White House budget director Mick Mulvaney told Congress that President Trump’s planned military parade would cost between $10 million and $30 million, the Washington Post reports.
VA Chief Misled Ethics Officials About European Trip
Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin’s chief of staff “doctored an email and made false statements to create a pretext for taxpayers to cover expenses for the secretary’s wife on a 10-day trip to Europe last summer,” the Washington Post reports.
“Vivieca Wright Simpson, VA’s third-most senior official, altered language in an email from an aide coordinating the trip to make it appear that Shulkin was receiving an award from the Danish government — then used the award to justify paying for his wife’s travel, Inspector General Michael Missal said in a report released Wednesday.”
“The account of how the government paid travel expenses for the secretary’s wife is one finding in an unsparing investigation that concluded that Shulkin and his staff misled agency ethics officials and the public about key details of the trip.”
Trump Hasn’t Asked Intelligence Chiefs to Stop Russia
When Sen. Angus King (I-ME) asked CIA Director Mike Pompeo if President Trump had asked him specifically “to try and stop the Russian meddling in the midterm elections, Pompeo dodged, feigning an inability to understand the question,” Defense One reports.
Said Pompeo: “I’m not sure how specific.”
Adm. Michael Rogers, the outgoing head of U.S. Cyber Command and the NSA, agreed: “I can’t say that I’ve been specifically directed.”
Democrats Maintain Solid Lead In Generic Ballot
A new Public Policy Polling survey finds Democrats have a solid 49% to 41% lead on the generic congressional ballot, although that’s down a shade from December when it was 51% to 40%.
Beyond their overall lead, they’re also benefiting from an enthusiasm advantage: 65% of Hillary Clinton voters say they’re “very excited” to vote in the election this fall, compared to 58% of Donald Trump voters.
For comparison, the FiveThirtyEight polling average has Democrats leading 46.8% to 40.1%.
Valentine’s Day Flashback
Because of Donald Trump’s wealth and celebrity status, public opinion polls have asked Americans their thoughts about him for decades. These surveys offer an important window into the public’s past views of the current president.
One lighthearted example comes from a 1989 Parents Magazine survey that gauged the public’s interest in spending Valentine’s Day with Mr. Trump. He did not fare so well. Out of the 10 potential celebrity dates, only Mikhail Gorbachev was a less attractive Valentine at the time.
Survey Notes: Male celebrities were asked only of female respondents, female celebrities were asked only of male respondents. Percentages in the figure do not include those who did not provide an answer. Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding. Survey conducted by Parents Magazine (9/22-10/10/89), obtained from the iPOLL databank provided by the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at Cornell University.
Thanks to Peter K. Enns, Executive Director of the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research and Associate Professor of Government, Cornell University.
Congressional Approval Falls After Two Shutdowns
Gallup: “Congressional approval is now 15%, down slightly from an uptick to 20% last month after Congress passed tax reform in December. Positivity quickly faded this month as the government shut down twice in three weeks because of impasses over the federal budget.”
