Political Wire

Become a member to get many great benefits -- exclusive analysis, trending news, a private podcast, no ads and more!

Biden Says McConnell Refused to Call Out Russians

January 23, 2018 at 3:33 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Former Vice President Joe Biden said that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) “stopped the Obama administration from speaking out about Russian interference in the 2016 campaign by refusing to sign on to a bipartisan statement of condemnation,” Politico reports.

That moment made Biden think “the die had been cast … this was all about the political play.”

“Biden said he and former President Obama worried that without a united front of bipartisanship, speaking out before the election would undermine the legitimacy of the election and American institutions in a way that would play into the Russians’ larger ambitions.”

Is Negative Coverage of Trump Helping Him?

January 23, 2018 at 3:29 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The media’s negative coverage of President Trump is actually helping the White House, Howard Kurtz argues in his new book, Media Madness: Donald Trump, the Press, and the War over the Truth.

The book will not be formally released until next week, but CNN reviewed the sections that were briefly available on Google Books before they were taken down on Tuesday afternoon.

Kurtz writes that the press is “falling into the president’s trap” as Trump stakes his presidency on “destroying the credibility of the news media” and that the media have become “their own worst enemies.”

Republicans Are Headed for the Hills

January 23, 2018 at 2:35 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

David Nir is compiling a spreadsheet showing a state-by-state summary of open and uncontested state legislative seats. He’s adding states only after their filing deadlines pass — which means just Illinois and Texas so far — but some patterns are already emerging.

“Thirty Republicans in these two states aren’t seeking re-election compared with just 12 Democrats. That proportion is similar to what we’re seeing for the House, where 31 Republicans and 15 Democrats are retiring. The uncontested seats (that is, where one major party isn’t fielding a candidate) tell the same story.”

Prosecutors Recommend 21 Months for Paul’s Attacker

January 23, 2018 at 2:14 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Rand Paul’s neighbor turned attacker, Rene Boucher, could see up to 21 months in prison for attacking the politician because he was stacking leaves on a pile near his property and he “had enough,” the Louisville Courier Journal reports.

In the plea agreement signed by Boucher, it states that the attack was not politically motivated but rather that it was a “property dispute that had finally boiled over.”

Political Termites

January 23, 2018 at 1:36 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Investigative reporter David Cay Johnston joins Chris Riback to discuss President Trump’s first year in office and explain why It’s Even Worse Than You Think.

Subscribe via iTunes or Google Play to get new episodes automatically downloaded to your phone.

Romney Would Win Senate Seat In a Landslide

January 23, 2018 at 1:24 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Salt Lake Tribune/Hinckely Institute poll in Utah finds Mitt Romney (R) would crush Jenny Wilson (D) in a race for U.S. Senate, 64% to 19%.

Another Woman Accuses Wyoming Official of Misconduct

January 23, 2018 at 1:07 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A second woman has accused Wyoming Secretary of State Ed Murray (R) of sexual misconduct, the Casper Star Tribune reports.

“Theresa Sullivan Twiford said that nearly 30 years ago, when she was 18 years old and babysitting for the Murray family, Ed Murray forcibly kissed her in front of his house… Twiford, the daughter of former Wyoming governor Mike Sullivan, decided to share her experience following the allegation made last month by a Colorado woman. The woman, Tatiana Maxwell, said that Murray sexually assaulted her in the early 1980s.”

Murray, who was widely considered a front-runner in this year’s race to replace Gov. Matt Mead (R), said he will not seek re-election or seek higher office.

GOP Senator Caught Calling Teenage Staff ‘Beautiful Girls’

January 23, 2018 at 12:38 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) has been roundly criticized after he was caught in footage calling underage teenagers “beautiful girls,” Yahoo News reports.

Wicker was speaking to Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) on the Senate floor, who said one Senate page was from one of the most beautiful places in the country. A C-SPAN video shows Wicker gesturing towards a group of female pages and saying: “I thought you were going to say this was one of the most beautiful girls. What about these others?”

Voters Blame Trump, Democrats Equally for Shutdown

January 23, 2018 at 12:31 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new NBC News/Survey Monkey poll finds that 39% of Americans think Democrats in Congress are responsible for the recent government shutdown.

In contrast, 38% blamed President Trump and just 18% said Republicans in Congress were to blame. Taken together, however, the poll shows that a slight majority of Americans — 56% — blame the president and his party.

Also interesting: 60% said Trump did not show strong leadership qualities during the recent negotiations over a shutdown.

Schumer Withdraws Offer for Funding Border Wall

January 23, 2018 at 12:21 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) “is taking his big spending boost for Donald Trump’s border wall off the table,” Politico reports.

“The Senate minority leader, through an aide, informed the White House on Monday that he was retracting the offer he made last week to give Trump well north of the $1.6 billion in wall funding Trump had asked for this year, according to two Democrats. And now they say Trump will simply not get a better deal than that on his signature campaign promise.”

Florida Ballot Measure Could Add 1.5 Million Voters

January 23, 2018 at 12:02 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Floridians will get to decide in November whether they want to amend the state constitution to automatically restore voting rights to felons once they complete their sentences, a move that could significantly expand the franchise to over 1.5 million people,” the HuffPost reports.

“Florida election officials verified Tuesday that organizers had gathered enough petitions to put the referendum on the ballot this year. Just gathering those signatures was a herculean task for the grassroots effort ― Florida law required the organizers to gather 766,200 signatures, equal to 8 percent of the votes cast in the last presidential election.”

Sessions Was Interviewed by Special Counsel

January 23, 2018 at 9:49 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Attorney General Jeff Sessions was questioned for several hours last week by the special counsel’s office as part of the investigation into Russia’s meddling in the election and whether the president obstructed justice since taking office,” the New York Times reports.

“The meeting marked the first time that investigators for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, are known to have interviewed a member of Mr. Trump’s cabinet.”

Schumer Keeps His Eye on the Midterms

January 23, 2018 at 9:31 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

This piece is only available to Political Wire members.

The morning headlines aren’t kind to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). Politico says his performance during the government shutdown fight sparked “unrest in the ranks.” The Wall Street Journal says he was “outflanked” by centrist senators. Time says Democrats “lost their spine.”

Join now to continue reading.

Members get exclusive analysis, bonus features and no advertising. Learn more.

If you’re already a member, sign in to your account.

Russian Twitter Accounts Promoted GOP Talking Points

January 23, 2018 at 8:45 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The White House branded the federal budget impasse… as the ‘Schumer Shutdown’ in its attempt to pin the blame on Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-NY),” the Los Angeles Times reports.

“But it wasn’t just Republicans using that phrase during the weekend government shutdown. Independent analysts said Twitter accounts linked to Russia have spread the same message.”

Donna Shalala Might Run for Congress

January 23, 2018 at 8:19 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Former University of Miami president Donna Shalala “might be eying a bid for Florida’s 27th Congressional District, where nine Democrats are scrapping to succeed retiring Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen in a seat that Hillary Clinton almost won by almost 20 points,” Politico reports.

“If Shalala runs, she’s a likely frontrunner who could clear some of the field.”

Majority Don’t Trust Trump with Nuclear Weapons

January 23, 2018 at 7:54 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new ABC News/Washington Post poll finds 60% of Americans don’t trust President Trump to handle his nuclear authority responsibly, and just more than half are concerned he might launch a nuclear attack without justification.

Quote of the Day

January 23, 2018 at 7:49 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“We kind of gave him—‘All right, you get a mulligan. You get a do-over here.'”

— Evangelical leader Tony Perkins, in an interview with Politico, on President Trump’s extramarital relationship with porn star Stormy Daniels.

Trump Has Not Followed Through on Ethics Pledge

January 23, 2018 at 7:45 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Among the many promises Donald Trump made a year ago to assure people he wouldn’t profit off his presidency, one stood out for its boldness: a pledge to donate the profits from any foreign governments staying in his namesake hotels to the U.S. Treasury,” the AP reports.

“Today, after a year in which groups associated with Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Kuwait have booked rooms, hosted events and spent thousands of dollars at the president’s hotel in Washington, no such payments to the Treasury have been made.”