“A federal judge in Maryland early Wednesday issued a second halt on the latest version of President Trump’s travel ban, asserting that the president’s own comments on the campaign trail and on Twitter convinced him that the directive was akin to an unconstitutional Muslim ban,” the Washington Post reports.
Trump Suggests Comey Wasn’t Truthful About Clinton
President Trump suggested that former FBI director James Comey had intended to spare Hillary Clinton from prosecution “long before investigation was complete” into her government email practices, the Washington Post reports.
“In a pair of early-morning Twitter messages, Trump referred to a recently released Justice Department document that indicates a draft of a Comey statement about the investigation was circulating among aides in May last year, two months before Comey announced the end of the investigation and his decision not to seek charges.”
Trump Changes Mind on Bipartisan Health Plan
“A bipartisan Senate deal to curb the growth of health insurance premiums is reeling after President Trump reversed course and opposed the agreement and top congressional Republicans and conservatives gave it a frosty reception,” the AP reports.
Trump said that “while I commend” the work by the two senators, “I continue to believe Congress must find a solution to the Obamacare mess instead of providing bailouts to insurance companies.”
‘He Knew What He Signed Up For’
President Trump told U.S. Army Sgt. La David Johnson’s widow Tuesday that “he knew what he signed up for… but when it happens it hurts anyway,” when he died serving in northwestern Africa, according to Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL), WPLG reports.
The Washington Post reports Wilson was riding in a limousine with Johnson when the president called and heard the conversation on speakerphone.
Wilson said Johnson broke down in tears: “He made her cry.”
Trump responds: “Democrat Congresswoman totally fabricated what I said to the wife of a soldier who died in action (and I have proof). Sad!”
Trump Hasn’t Called All Families
President Trump “has pulled bereaved military families into a painful political fight of his own making, going so far Tuesday as to cite the death of his chief of staff’s son in Afghanistan to question whether Barack Obama and other presidents did enough to honor the military dead,” the AP reports.
“He’s boasted that ‘I think I’ve called every family of someone who’s died,’ though The Associated Press found relatives of two soldiers who died overseas during Trump’s presidency who said they never received a call or a letter from him, as well as relatives of a third who did not get a call from him.”
“Contending that Trump’s propensity for a political fight has drifted into ‘sacred’ territory, Democrats and some former government officials have expressed anger at his comments that he, almost alone among presidents, called the families of military members killed in war. They accused him of ‘inane cruelty’ and a ‘sick game.’”
Nearly Half Think Media Makes Up Stories
A new Politico/Morning Consult poll finds that 46% of Americans believe the news media fabricate news stories about President Trump and his administration. Just 37% of voters think the media do not fabricate stories, the poll shows, while the remaining 17% are undecided.
Among Republicans, 76% think the news media invent stories about Trump and his administration.
Most Oppose Trump’s Tax Plan
A new CNN poll finds that 52% of Americans oppose President Trump’s recent tax reform proposals, while only 34% say they support the Trump plan.
RNC Sets Fundraising Record
“The Republican National Committee raised more than $100 million in the first nine months of 2017, marking the first time it has raised that much, that fast, in a non-presidential election year,” McClatchy reports.
Bannon Hits Up Mega-Donors Frustrated with McConnell
Politico: “Over the last several weeks, Bannon has crisscrossed the country meeting with dozens of the party’s biggest contributors — all in the hopes of capitalizing on their anger at McConnell. The populist bomb-thrower wants donors to bankroll primary challenges against Republican incumbents, or short of that, to close their wallets to McConnell-aligned causes.”
Navarro Says Manufacturing Decline Increases Abortions
“White House officials working on trade policy were alarmed last month when a top adviser to President Trump circulated a two-page document that alleged a weakened manufacturing sector leads to an increase in abortion, spousal abuse, divorce and infertility,” the Washington Post reports.
“The fact-sheets… were prepared and distributed by Peter Navarro, director of the White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy. They were presented without any data or information to back up the assertions, and reveal some of the materials the Trump administration reviewed as it was crafting its trade policy.”
Kushner Was ‘Freaked Out’ About Comey
Vanity Fair: “According to sources familiar with the matter, the person in Trump’s orbit who may have the most to be worried about in Priebus’s testimony is Jared Kushner. Priebus has knowledge of Kushner’s proximity to the controversial decision to fire Comey during a weekend at Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, in early May, which, hypothetically, is the lynchpin of an obstruction case against the president and his advisers. Trump was accompanied for the weekend by Kushner, Ivanka Trump, and Stephen Miller. At the club, Miller drafted an angry letter to Comey justifying his removal… The following Monday, after returning to Washington, Trump told other advisers, including Priebus, of the decision to oust Comey during an Oval Office meeting.”
“Kushner’s closeness to the discussion of firing Comey continues to be much discussed by current and former Trump administration officials, who see it as one of the main drivers of the administration’s present legal travails. Two sources familiar with the matter told me that prior to Comey’s dismissal, Kushner expressed concern to West Wing officials about the investigation. ‘He’s all over us,’ Kushner told one official in February, according to two sources briefed on the conversation. ‘He was freaked out about Comey from day one,’ one Trump adviser said.”
Senate Appears to Have Votes for Budget
“The Senate took an important step toward enacting Republican tax cuts Tuesday, voting to start debate on a budget resolution that would allow the chamber to approve a GOP tax proposal with a simple majority of votes,” the Washington Post reports.
“The chamber voted 50 to 47 along party lines midday to proceed to debate on the budget resolution, a victory for Republican leaders who had faced the threat of several defections.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“There’s no such thing as Obamacare anymore.”
— President Trump, quoted by NBC News, describing the Affordable Care Act as “virtually dead and “on its final legs.”
Dead Heat In Alabama
A new Fox News poll in Alabama finds Roy Moore (R) in a dead heat with Doug Jones (D) for U.S. Senate, 42% to 42%, with another 11% unsure.
Among just the 53% of Alabama registered voters who are “extremely” or “very interested” in the race, Jones has a one-point edge over Moore, 46% to 45%.
Spicer Questioned by Special Counsel’s Team
Sean Spicer met with special counsel Robert Mueller’s team on Monday for an interview that lasted much of the day, Politico reports.
“During his sitdown, Spicer was grilled about the firing of former FBI director James Comey and his statements regarding the firing, as well as about Trump’s meetings with Russians officials including one with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in the Oval Office.”
Impeachment Was Designed for Someone Like Trump
Barbara : “Their writings and debates surrounding the creation of the Constitution make clear that the framers feared a certain kind of character coming to power and usurping the republican ideal of their new nation. Having just defeated a tyrant — ‘Mad’ King George III of England — they carefully crafted rules to remove such a character: impeachment. In the process, they revealed precisely the kind of corrupt, venal, inattentive and impulsive character they were worried about.”
“The very embodiment of what the Founding Fathers feared is now residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.”
“Again and again, they anticipated attributes and behaviors that President Trump exhibits on an all-too-regular basis. By describing ‘High Crimes and Misdemeanors,’ the grounds for impeachment, as any act that poses a significant threat to society — either through incompetence or other misdeeds — the framers made it clear that an official does not have to commit a crime to be subject to impeachment. Instead, they made impeachment a political process, understanding that the true threat to the republic was not criminality but unfitness, that a president who violated the country’s norms and values was as much a threat as one who broke its laws.”
For more: A Citizen’s Guide to Impeachment.
Trump May Pick Pharma Executive for Health Secretary
President Trump is leaning toward nominating Alex Azar, a former pharmaceutical industry executive and George W. Bush administration official, to serve as Health and Human Services secretary, Politico reports.
Judge Halts New Version of Trump’s Travel Ban
“Hours before it was to take effect, a federal judge in Hawaii issued a nationwide order on Tuesday blocking, for now, President Trump’s third attempt at a travel ban. It would have indefinitely stopped almost all travel to the United States from seven countries, including most of the Muslim-majority nations included in his original travel ban,” the New York Times reports.
“Tuesday’s ruling was yet another legal setback for one of Mr. Trump’s earliest and most controversial efforts. The judge, Derrick Watson of Federal District Court in Honolulu, had previously blocked Mr. Trump’s second travel ban from taking effect in March.”
