President Trump accused the Obama administration of launching an investigation into the Trump campaign in the months before the 2016 election in order to help Hillary Clinton win.
Said Trump: “Why did the Obama Administration start an investigation into the Trump Campaign (with zero proof of wrongdoing) long before the Election in November? Wanted to discredit so Crooked H would win. Unprecedented. Bigger than Watergate! Plus, Obama did NOTHING about Russian meddling.”
ProPublica: “In recent weeks, the Trump Organization has ordered the manufacture of new tee markers for golf courses that are emblazoned with the seal of the President of the United States. Under federal law, the seal’s use is permitted only for official government business. Misuse can be a crime.”
“Ethics experts have long been on the lookout for signs that the Trump Organization would exploit the office of the presidency for commercial gain. Several said that using the presidential seal on the company’s golf courses would fall into this category.”
“They spent their first year in Washington as an untouchable White House power couple, commanding expansive portfolios, outlasting rivals and enjoying unmatched access to the president. But Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump have undergone a swift and stunning reckoning of late, their powers restricted, their enemies emboldened and their future in the West Wing uncertain,” the AP reports.
“Kushner, long the second-most powerful man in the West Wing, is under siege. President Trump’s son-in-law has lost influential White House allies. He remains under the shadow of the Russia probe and has seen his business dealings come under renewed scrutiny. He has been stripped of his top security clearance, raising questions how he can successfully advance his ambitious agenda — including achieving Mideast peace, a goal that has eluded presidents for generations.”
“Kushner’s most powerful patron, the president himself, has wavered recently on whether his daughter and son-in-law belong in the White House anymore.”
You're reading the free version of Political Wire
Upgrade to a paid membership to unlock full access. The process is quick and easy. You can even use Apple Pay.
“Resistance to the Republican tax overhaul comes with an ideological twist for some Democratic state officials: They’ve styled themselves as champions of the working class but are pushing hard for measures that would reduce taxes mostly for the wealthy,” the AP reports.
“Democratic governors and lawmakers in a handful of high-income, high-tax states are promoting policies that are intended to spare their residents the pain of the new $10,000 cap on deductions for state and local taxes. Connecticut, New Jersey and New York are even planning to sue the federal government over the new cap, which was a key provision of the Republican tax overhaul adopted in December.”
“The legislative workarounds have moved swiftly through state Senate chambers in California and New Jersey. A bill with similar components passed the Oregon Senate and House in the last two weeks. The concept is under consideration in Connecticut, Maryland, New York, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia.”
Mike Allen: “Top Republicans sound increasingly resigned to losing a special House election in Pennsylvania Trump Country a week from today, after party-affiliated groups spent more than $9 million on a race that should be a ‘gimme.'”
“It’s one of the increasingly bearish signs for the GOP ahead of November’s midterms, with mammoth stakes for the West Wing: If Dems take the House and there’s a Speaker Pelosi, President Trump faces endless subpoenas and perhaps impeachment proceedings.”
“For unpaid interns on Capitol Hill, secrecy is so much a part of the job that on their first day, many are required to sign sweeping nondisclosure agreements,” Vox reports.
“Employment lawyers reviewed two Hill NDAs obtained by Vox and said they are written in a way that could discourage interns from speaking up about anything, potentially protecting members of Congress and their staff even in cases of harassment or abuse… Lawyers questioned the scope of the language, the absence of an exception for incidents of harassment, discrimination, or abuse, and the fact that interns are not guaranteed a copy of what they signed.”
“Italy is on course for a hung parliament after voters backed right-leaning and populist parties, a vote projection released by state TV suggests,” the BBC reports.
CNN: “Based on early vote count, the result looks like a win for the center-right coalition brokered by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, which collectively is projected to hold the biggest share of the vote — 35.5%.”
“The result, which is comprised of Berlusconi’s Forza Italia, Matteo Salvini’s far-right League and the neo-fascist Brothers of Italy, means it will have the most seats in parliament, but 4% short of the 40% needed to avoid a hung parliament.”
“The Senate is preparing to scale back the sweeping banking regulations passed after the 2008 financial crisis, with more than a dozen Democrats ready to give Republicans the votes they need to weaken one of President Obama’s largest legislative achievements,” the Washington Post reports.
“Eight years after nearly every Senate Democrat backed a sweeping set of new rules for financial firms large and small, the party is now split, with moderates, several of them facing tough midterm election contests, working with the opposing party.”
Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) told Fox News that Stephen Colbert’s jokes about him are a “danger” to the nation.
Said Nunes: “This is the danger that we have in this country. The left controls not only the universities in this country, but they also control Hollywood in this country, and the mainstream media, so conservatives in this country are under attack. They attack people who are trying to get to the truth.”
Nunes is referring to the sketch below:
A grand jury subpoena from special counsel Robert Mueller, seen by Jonathan Swan and sent to a witness indicates that many in President Trump’s known inner circle — and the president — are within the scope of his investigation.
The subpoena seeks “all communications — meaning emails, texts, handwritten notes, etc. — that this witness sent and received” to Carter Page, Corey Lewandowski, Donald J. Trump, Hope Hicks, Keith Schiller, Michael Cohen, Paul Manafort, Rick Gates, Roger Stone and Steve Bannon.
“As Russia’s virtual war against the United States continues unabated with the midterm elections approaching, the State Department has yet to spend any of the $120 million it has been allocated since late 2016 to counter foreign efforts to meddle in elections or sow distrust in democracy,” the New York Times reports.
“As a result, not one of the 23 analysts working in the department’s Global Engagement Center — which has been tasked with countering Moscow’s disinformation campaign — speaks Russian, and a department hiring freeze has hindered efforts to recruit the computer experts needed to track the Russian efforts.”
Politico: “In his 14 months as president, Trump hasn’t yet followed his predecessors’ habit of dropping by local watering holes (even though he’s made no secret of his love for junk food) or public service events either at home or on the road. He hasn’t gone to a baseball game or stopped at a soup kitchen. On Saturday, he ventured out of the White House to attend the annual Gridiron Dinner, taking a baby step into Washington’s elite social scene. But his appearance at the white-tie event did little to bring him closer to ordinary Americans.”
“Trump promised the night of his victory to govern on behalf of ‘the forgotten men and women of our country.’ Yet as president, he rarely comes into contact with regular people except in the structured setting of the White House or during tightly orchestrated events set up by staff.”
Washington Post: “Heading into a new week, lawmakers still have no sense of what Trump truly wants on guns and other key agenda items — a pattern that leaders of both parties say has hindered their ability to move forward on knotty issues that could benefit from presidential leadership.”
“After more than a year of the Trump presidency, members of Congress have learned to brace themselves for unpredictable, confusing and often contradictory positions from the commander in chief on issues ranging from health care to immigration to gun rights.”
New York Times: “More than a dozen high-profile departures later — and amid tumult, scandal and an ever-unfolding investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia — Ms. Conway, 51, is one of the few remaining prominent aides from the campaign. In a White House with the highest turnover rates in decades, she has survived by knowing when to step back from the spotlight, keeping the president’s ear, focusing on a policy issue significant to the poor and working class, and maintaining an unflinching loyalty to President Trump even as she outmaneuvers rivals on the staff.”
“The public criticism hasn’t abated, but Ms. Conway’s skin is thicker than it used to be.”
Former Gov. Chris Christie (R) told ABC News that it’s time for Jared Kushner to leave the White House.
He said Kushner should follow the example set by a “noble” Hope Hicks, who announced her resignation as communications director last week.
Said Christie: “I think what the staff has to do is in fact what Hope Hicks I think did. I think Hope Hicks saw that between the Rob Porter situation and some of the other things that were going on, that she was becoming a distraction for the president and less of an asset in her mind, and she did the noble thing in my view, which was to say, you know what, if I’m not 100 percent an asset for the president, I’m going to back away.”
“The last night he was in the White House, the day before inauguration he called just to say that he enjoyed working with me. And I certainly said the same. He didn’t have to do that. It was very nice.”
— Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), quoted by The Hill, saying he keeps in touch with former President Obama.
Emilio Huerta (D) is ending his campaign to replace Rep. David Valadao (R-CA) in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Fresno Bee reports.
“In 2016, Valadao beat Huerta by 13 percentage points in a district that favored Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump by nearly 16 points.”
Los Angeles Times: “Democrats are not ceding the race, and expect a new candidate to announce before this week’s filing deadline. Huerta’s exit has some Democrats who were concerned he was a weak candidate breathing a sigh of relief.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin told NBC News that the 13 Russians who have been indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller “do not represent the Russian state, the Russian authorities.”
But he quickly added that he’ll “never, never” extradite them to the United States.
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.
“There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them.”
— Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press”
“Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all.”
— Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report
“Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”
— Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report
“The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom — nicely packaged, constantly updated… What political junkie could ask for more?”
— Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia
“Political Wire is a great, great site.”
— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”
“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”
— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post
“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”
— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit
“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”
— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.