“Yes, I was on Judiciary Committee that impeached Bill Clinton and sent him for trial in the Senate for matters less serious than the ones before us now.”
— Former Rep. Bob Inglis (R-SC), on Twitter.
A Conversation with Al Franken
Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) joined Chris Riback on the latest episode of Political Wire Conversations. It’s a really fun conversation.
Franken is also author of an excellent new book, Giant of the Senate.
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Ryan Says GOP Wouldn’t Impeach If Trump Were Democrat
Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) insisted that Republicans wouldn’t be calling for the impeachment of a Democratic president accused of the same actions as President Trump, The Hill reports.
Said Ryan: “No. I don’t think we would, actually. I don’t think that’s at all the case.”
U.K. Turnout Models Ignored Surge In Youth Vote
Nate Silver: “The 2017 election therefore seems to be a case of an overcorrection. The pollsters apparently did a good enough job of weighting the raw samples properly, which got them fairly close to the right outcome. Then on top of that, some of them gave extra weight to the Conservatives through their turnout models. As a result, they discounted signs of a youth-driven Labour turnout surge. As was the case in the U.S. with Bernie Sanders, younger voters turned out in a big way for Labour’s left-wing leader, Jeremy Corbyn.”
“It’s one thing for a pollster to get an outcome wrong because voters fail to turn out when they say they will. But if voters tell you they’re going to turn out, you ignore them, and they show up to vote anyway, you really don’t have much of a defense.”
Trump Will File Complaint Against Comey Over Leak
President Trump’s outside attorney “plans to file a complaint against former FBI Director James Comey with the Justice Department Inspector General and the Senate judiciary committee,” CNN reports.
“The complaint will focus on Comey’s testimony that he gave a friend the content of memos about his conversations with Trump and asked the friend to then give that information to a reporter. Comey said Friday that he gave the friend — later identified as Daniel Richman, a longtime Comey confidante and Columbia University professor — the information after Trump tweeted that he may have tapes of his conversations with the fired FBI director.”
Ossoff Opens Up 7-Point Lead In Georgia
A new Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll in Georgia’s 6th congressional district shows Jon Ossoff (D) holds a 7-point edge over Karen Handel (R) in the nationally-watched special election race, 51% to 44%.
Key findings: “Ossoff has an enormous lead over Handel among women, leading 60% to 34%. The Republican is beating Ossoff among male voters by a 52% to 41% margin. He has a solid advantage over Handel among younger voters, while she has a slim majority of voters who are over 65.”
Trump Accuses Comey of Lying
With an early morning tweet, President Trump accused former FBI director James Comey of lying under oath, Playbook observes.
“Lawmakers will say if the president believes Comey lied, Trump himself should come to Capitol Hill and testify under oath about his recollection of events. This is why keeping quiet is oftentimes the best idea. Trump has now created a whole new storyline that is certain to distract Washington for the days and weeks to come.”
“Note that most Republicans yesterday didn’t accuse James Comey of lying — in fact, many of them called him honest and honorable. They just took issue with whether Trump directly asked Comey to drop the Russia investigation.”
What Republicans Are Saying This Morning
Playbook: “Forget what the White House thinks of yesterday’s testimony. We spent the day in the Capitol, talking to Republican members of Congress — the ones that have to vote on President Donald Trump’s agenda — and they were absolutely shocked at how poorly yesterday went for the president. Publicly they say that the president is a political neophyte who is still learning the presidency. But privately, they said James Comey was extraordinarily convincing and Trump’s team absolutely botched their response. They’re all afraid of more shoes dropping.”
“Trump’s political standing on Capitol Hill is growing more and more perilous. Meanwhile, the RNC’s principal rebuttal seemed to be that the Obama administration had a bad day — which is true, but almost entirely irrelevant.”
“Republicans were shocked just how well Comey came across. He didn’t try to jam his viewpoint down the committee’s throat, he was confident but not cocky and admitted, on several occasions, that his impression of his interactions could’ve be faulty, but the evidence otherwise seemed overwhelming to lawmakers.”
May Reaches Deal to Form New U.K. Government
After losing her majority in yesterday’s elections, British Prime Minister Theresa May “has struck a deal with the Democratic Unionists that will allow her to form a government,” the Guardian reports.
“It follows extensive talks with the DUP late into the night. Party figures say they have been driven on by their dismay at the possibility of Jeremy Corbyn becoming prime minister.”
The AP notes May’s “plan of calling an early election in the hopes of getting a bigger majority than she enjoyed during the previous parliament backfired in Thursday’s general election.”
Bloomberg: What happens now?
Comey Leaves Trump Under Cloud of Investigations
Bloomberg: “By neither exonerating nor convicting the president, Comey laid down during his Thursday appearance before the Senate Intelligence Committee a road map of questions for special counsel Robert Mueller to follow about Trump’s conduct, a path it could take Mueller months, even years, to follow. At the same time, the head of the panel said its investigation is just getting started, and a second committee may summon Comey to testify.”
“While Republicans hope to move past Comey’s revelations and get back to their agenda, having a president under a ‘cloud’ — Trump’s word — with tarnished credibility, diminished political standing and distractions galore won’t do anything to bring his health care, tax or infrastructure proposals to the finish line.”
New York Times: “Thanks to Mr. Trump’s own actions, the cloud darkened considerably on Thursday and now seems likely to hover over his presidency for months, if not years, to come.”
David Frum: “Friends of the president will reply that the Comey hearing did not produce a smoking gun. That’s true. But the floor is littered with cartridge casings, there’s a smell of gunpowder in the air, bullet holes in the wall, and a warm weapon on the table. Comey showed himself credible, convincing, and consistent. Against him are arrayed the confused excuses of the least credible president in modern American history.”
Mike Allen: “There is no way to spin away this was a very dark and damning day for Trump. The head of the FBI testified he so distrusted his own president and White House that he took detailed notes of his conversations to prove he felt pressure to drop an investigation of collusion with the Russians. He then felt so strongly he leaked those notes to the press to force a special prosecutor.”
Quote of the Day
“Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication…and WOW, Comey is a leaker!”
— President Trump, on Twitter.
White House Kept Trump Occupied During Comey Hearing
New York Times: “In all, Mr. Trump watched only about 45 minutes of Mr. Comey’s testimony, the people close to the president said. Much of that time was spent under the eye of his take-charge personal lawyer, Marc E. Kasowitz, and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, one of the cabinet members he trusts most. This was by design, with the president’s tacit consent. His aides packed the day with meetings and speechwriting session.”
Breitbart Lost 90% of Its Advertisers
Washington Post: “The number of advertisers on the alt-right site Breitbart.com has dropped 90 percent in recent months, from 242 in March to 26 in May, according to data from MediaRadar, a New York firm that tracks online advertising. Among those that continue to advertise on the site include a gentleman’s club in Northern Virginia, a golf resort near the coast of Spain and the conservative foundation Judicial Watch.”
Senate Republicans Find Consensus Hard on Health Care
Politico: “Senate Republicans hoping to get the bulk of an Obamacare repeal bill done within the next few days keep finding a new problem for every old one they get closer to resolving.”
“A burst of optimism that they could agree on a more generous version of the House-passed repeal bill was quickly doused by concerns over the cost. An emerging consensus on subsidies to stabilize shaky insurance markets was countered by a threat that crucial abortion restrictions could derail the effort altogether. And looming over it all, lawmakers are still struggling to bridge the deep divide over the future of Medicaid.”
Sessions May Have Had Another Undisclosed Meeting
Former FBI Director James Comey told senators in a closed hearing this afternoon that Attorney General Jeff Sessions may have had a third interaction with Russia’s ambassador to the United States, CNN reports.
“The information is based in part on Russian-to-Russian intercepts where the meeting was discussed.”
Kushner to Meet with Senate Staff
Jared Kushner is expected to meet with Senate Intelligence Committee staff mid-June, two people familiar with the matter told NBC News.
“Kushner’s meeting would be the first step in an agreement he made with the committee. He’s expected to provide documents and ultimately take questions from the committee’s senators.”
Ossoff Holds Small Lead In Georgia
A new Landmark Communications Poll in Georgia’s 6ht congressional district finds Jon Ossoff (D) narrowly leads Karen Handel (R), 50% to 47%.
Exit Polls Suggest No Clear Majority in UK Election
“The U.K. risks plunging into fresh political turmoil after exit polls signaled that the governing Conservative Party failed to achieve an overall majority in Thursday’s election, an unexpected result that raises profound questions about the country’s looming departure from the European Union,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“In a potentially fatal blow to the premiership of Theresa May, the polls suggested her governing Conservative Party looks set to have fallen short of the 326 seats needed to win a majority in Britain’s 650-seat Parliament. The poll suggested that her party would win 314 seats and the main opposition Labour Party 266 seats.”
