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Booker to Campaign for Jones In Alabama

December 6, 2017 at 9:46 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Doug Jones (D) and his allies “are trying to finalize plans to bring in several high-profile current or former African American elected officials, including Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), to campaign for him this weekend in Alabama as he wages an aggressive final push to turn out black voters in a Tuesday special election with national stakes,” the Washington Post reports.

“Jones has been trying to piece together a delicate coalition built on support from core Democrats and some crossover votes from Republicans not drawn to their party nominee, Roy Moore (R). Crucial to that plan is strong turnout by African Americans, who make up about a quarter of Alabama’s electorate.”

Trump Jr. Wouldn’t Answer About Talk with Father

December 6, 2017 at 9:43 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Donald Trump Jr. “cited attorney-client privilege to avoid telling lawmakers about a conversation he had with his father, President Trump, after news broke this summer that the younger Trump — and top campaign brass — had met with Russia-connected individuals in Trump Tower during the 2016 campaign,” Politico reports.

“Though neither Trump Jr. nor the president is an attorney, Trump Jr. told the House Intelligence Committee that there was a lawyer in the room during the discussion, according to the committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Adam Schiff of California. Schiff said he didn’t think it was a legitimate invocation of attorney-client privilege.”

Said Schiff: “I don’t believe you can shield communications between individuals merely by having an attorney present. That’s not the purpose of attorney-client privilege.”

White House Explains Trump’s Slurred Speech

December 6, 2017 at 6:38 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The White House said President Trump’s slurred speech at the end of his announcement about Jerusalem was no more than a case of dry mouth, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Said a spokesman: “His throat was dry. There’s nothing to it.”

Daily Mail: “Conspiracy theorists on Twitter launched into high gear, including Democratic partisans who speculated about every possible cause from a mini-stroke to cocaine use.”

“But a Virginia dentist… watched a video of the speech Wednesday afternoon and concluded that the speech quirk ‘sounds like a loose denture plate.'”

Franken Will Resign

December 6, 2017 at 5:36 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A Democratic official who has spoken to Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) and key aides tells Minnesota Public Radio that Franken will resign his Senate seat on Thursday.

More than 30 Democratic senators have now joined the calls for Franken to step aside, according to Axios.

However, Franken’s office tweets: “No final decision has been made and the Senator is still talking with his family.”

Bredesen Will Run for Senate In Tennessee

December 6, 2017 at 5:29 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen (D) is entering the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, the Nashville Post reports.

“According to multiple sources, Bredesen began calling major donors this afternoon to confirm that he is in the race. He has been mum about a campaign since Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) announced he would step down next year, only acknowledging that he was contemplating a run. A formal announcement of his intent to run has not yet been made.”

Trump Wants LePage to Run for Senate

December 6, 2017 at 5:25 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump is pushing Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) to run for the U.S. Senate, the Washington Post reports.

“Trump has told advisers he plans to call Mr. LePage, the bombastic governor who endorsed him in February 2016, and ask him to jump in against Sen. Angus King (I-ME) in 2018 — and that he would endorse him. King is an independent who often caucuses with Democrats.”

GOP Leaders May Bump Up Corporate Tax Rate

December 6, 2017 at 4:52 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Republican leaders, convinced they need to find new revenue in order to fund last-minute changes to the giant tax package moving through Congress, are looking at decreasing the size of their planned corporate tax cut,” the Washington Post reports.

“The House and Senate passed separate tax-cut packages in recent weeks, and both bills would lower the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent. But GOP negotiators are now openly discussing the possibility of moving that rate back up to 22 percent to generate more revenue.”

Star Tribune Calls on Franken to Resign

December 6, 2017 at 4:48 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The Minneapolis Star Tribune wants Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) to resign:

Franken is only partway through a second term and had only recently started to become a larger voice on the national stage, particularly with the publication of a new book. But the incidents of alleged sexual misconduct have become too damaging for him to continue. Franken has said he will make an announcement on Thursday: It should be that he is resigning.

If this is to be an actual turning point in our culture, there must be real and lasting consequences to behaviors that never should have been accepted. That these incidents came so late in Franken’s life should make him all the more accountable. Instead, he has mostly offered hollow apologies that failed to acknowledge what happened.

Trump Jr. Says He Did Not Talk with Father on Statement

December 6, 2017 at 4:39 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Donald Trump Jr. told House investigators that did not communicate directly with his father when confronted with news reports about his June 2016 Trump Tower meeting, CNN reports.

“Instead, Trump Jr. said he was speaking to White House aide Hope Hicks about how to respond to the reports. He said President Trump was debating between a longer and a shorter statement while President Trump and Hicks were aboard Air Force One.”

Why a Shutdown Still Seems Very Likely

December 6, 2017 at 4:21 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

This piece is only available to Political Wire members.

The federal government will shut down on Friday unless Congress passes a funding bill to keep it open.

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Conyers’ Son Was Arrested for Domestic Incident

December 6, 2017 at 4:20 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“John Conyers III, a Detroit hedge fund manager named as a possible successor to his scandal-rocked father, Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), was arrested in Los Angeles this year on suspicion of domestic violence, but prosecutors declined to charge him,” according to documents obtained by NBC News.

Ryan Wants to Target Medicare, Welfare Spending Next

December 6, 2017 at 3:31 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) told radio host Ross Kaminsky that Republicans will next try to reduce spending on Medicare, Medicaid and anti-poverty programs in an effort to reduce America’s deficit.

Said Ryan: “We’re going to have to get back next year at entitlement reform, which is how you tackle the debt and the deficit… Frankly, it’s the health care entitlements that are the big drivers of our debt, so we spend more time on the health care entitlements — because that’s really where the problem lies, fiscally speaking.”

Earlier for members: Gutting Social Security and Medicare Is Next

Gay Man Will Run Against Clerk Who Denied Him License

December 6, 2017 at 3:17 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

David Ermold, a gay man who was denied a marriage license by Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis (R), will run to unseat her in 2018, WKLC reports.

“In the two years since then, things have quieted down in this Appalachian town. But last month, Davis announced she would run for re-election and face voters for the first time since refusing to issue the licenses. Three other people have also filed to run against her.”

Yet Another Woman Says Franken Groped Her

December 6, 2017 at 3:01 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Tina Dupuy is the latest woman to accuse Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) of groping her.

I only bug celebrities for pictures when it’ll make my foster mom happy. She loves Franken, so I asked to get a picture with him. We posed for the shot. He immediately put his hand on my waist, grabbing a handful of flesh. I froze. Then he squeezed. At least twice.

I’d been married for two years at the time; I don’t let my husband touch me like that in public because I believe it diminishes me as a professional woman. Al Franken’s familiarity was inappropriate and unwanted. It was also quick; he knew exactly what he was doing.

Many Votes by Citizen Legislators Have Personal Benefit

December 6, 2017 at 2:43 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“State lawmakers around the country have introduced and supported policies that directly and indirectly help their own businesses, their employers and sometimes their personal finances,” according to an analysis by the Center for Public Integrity and the Associated Press.

“The news organizations found numerous examples in which lawmakers’ votes had the effect of promoting their private interests. Even then, the votes did not necessarily represent a conflict of interest as defined by the state. That’s because legislatures set their own rules for when lawmakers should recuse themselves. In some states, lawmakers are required to vote despite any ethical dilemmas.”

Conservative Writer Says He’ll Never Vote for GOP Again

December 6, 2017 at 1:29 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times columnist Bret Stephens told MSNBC he can never vote Republican again because of the party’s backing of Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore (R).

Said Stephens: “Until last year, I voted Republican in every single election,” while adding he did not vote for Donald Trump.

He added: “I could never vote ever again for a party that is making an open endorsement of a man against whom there are credible accusations of pedophilia. Any of us who have teenage children know exactly what we would do with a 32-year-old man who made sexual advances on our children. This is one of those moments in history where people will look back and say that is the moment of shame.”

Flynn Said Russian Sanctions Would Be ‘Ripped Up’

December 6, 2017 at 1:07 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Former national security adviser Michael Flynn told a former business associate that economic sanctions against Russia would be “ripped up” as one of the Trump administration’s first acts, the New York Times reports.

“Mr. Flynn believed that ending the sanctions could allow a business project he had once participated in to move forward… The account is the strongest evidence to date that the Trump administration wanted to end the sanctions immediately, and suggests that Mr. Flynn had a possible economic incentive for the United States to forge a closer relationship with Russia.”

“The account is detailed in a letter written by Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee. In the letter, Mr. Cummings said that the whistle-blower contacted his office in June and has authorized him to go public with the details. He did not name the whistle-blower.”

Franken to Make Announcement Tomorrow

December 6, 2017 at 1:03 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Al Franken’s (D-MN) office said the senator will make a public announcement tomorrow amid mounting calls for his resignation, CBS News reports.

Should Franken resign, the process to replace him is clear:

Since it’s more than six weeks before the primary for that Senate seat, Gov. Mark Dayton would appoint someone to fill the seat.
There would be an election in 2018 to find someone to fill out the rest of his term until the 2020 election.