Washington Post: “Months after the FBI began probing allegations against Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), investigators are looking at whether someone set out to smear him while he was running for reelection last year and then ascending to his new post as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, according to four people briefed on the inquiry.”
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Edwards Gets His Law License Back
A records check with the North Carolina State Bar shows John Edwards has reactivated his license to practice law, which had been inactive for more than a decade, the AP reports.
House Reaches Compromise on Immigration Bill
“A bipartisan group of U.S. House members has reached a tentative agreement on a comprehensive revision of the U.S. immigration system, according to three lawmakers, as a Senate committee proceeds with its own plan,” Bloomberg reports.
“The House proposal, like the Senate’s, offers a path to citizenship for many of 11 million undocumented immigrants already living in the U.S., according to a House aide not authorized to discuss the deal publicly. While none would be barred from seeking that path, they would have to wait 10 years to become legal residents, making them eligible for citizenship after another five years. The bipartisan proposal in the Senate envisions a path to citizenship taking at least 13 years.”
“Resolution of this issue poses the potential key to an agreement between the Democratic-controlled Senate and Republican-run House on President Obama’s push for the most significant revision of U.S. immigration policy in a generation.”
Republicans are Worried They’ll Blow It
Politico: “Republicans are worried one thing could screw up the political gift of three Obama administration controversies at once: fellow Republicans. Top GOP leaders are privately warning members to put a sock in it when it comes to silly calls for impeachment or over-the-top comparisons to Watergate. They want members to focus on months of fact-finding investigations – not rhetorical fury.”
One Senate GOP leadership aide said the coming investigation “has the capacity to be debilitating” for
the administration: “It will take months, and it will ebb and flow in
terms of its national attention. But the ebbs will be
white hot.”
Republican Claims on Benghazi Prove False
Josh Marshall notes that during a CBS News report on the Benghazi talking points, Major Garrett “did something I don’t feel like I’ve seen in a really long time or maybe ever on a network news cast. He basically said straight out: Republicans told us these were the quotes, that wasn’t true.”
Said Garrett: “There is no evidence the White House orchestrated these changes.”
John Dickerson: “I was told there was going to be a cover-up. After reading the 100 pages of emails related to the Benghazi media talking points, I’m hard-pressed to find evidence for the most damning accusations against the president and his staff. If they were involved, they were once again leading from behind.”
Video Shows Toronto Mayor Smoking Crack
Gawker: “Here is what the video shows: Rob Ford, the mayor of Toronto, is the only person visible in the frame. Prior to the trip, I spent a lot of time looking at photographs of Rob Ford. The man in the video is Rob Ford. It is well-lit, clear. Ford is seated, in a room in a house. In one hand is a a clear, glass pipe. The kind with a big globe and two glass cylinders sticking out of it. In the other hand is a lighter…”
“So: That was a video of the mayor of Toronto smoking crack. The trouble is, the owner wants money. More money than I am willing to pay. The tipster has already reached out to one other news outlet, a Canadian organization that he refused to name, which offered $40,000. The owner rejected that. He thinks he can get six figures. It’s unlikely he’s going to get six figures.”
Republicans Retreat on Judicial Nomination
David Hawkings: “The day’s most consequential roll call was at Senate Judiciary, where all eight Republicans joined the 10 Democrats in endorsing Sri Srinivasan for a seat on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.”
“Such unanimity is an extraordinary and unmistakable sign that GOP conservatives are making a tactical retreat in the judicial wars — one that may influence the filling of a future seat on the Supreme Court.”
Top McConnell Aide Caught Promoting Politico
Roll Call: “A video posted on the Politico website featuring Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s chief of staff has been taken down after the Kentucky Republican’s office objected to its placement on a page designed to solicit advertisers.”
The video features McConnell chief of staff Josh Holmes explaining why he reads the Washington publication and ends with him saying, “I’m Josh Holmes and I’m a Politico.”
Noem Considers Senate Bid in South Dakota
Rep. Kristi Noem (R-SD) is discussing the possibility of mounting a Senate campaign in 2014, telling The Hill she’s had “some conversations” with groups about running for the seat being vacated by Sen. Tim Johnson (D).
Weiner Spotted Shooting Campaign Video
Anthony Weiner (D) “was spotted shooting a campaign-style video on the stoop of his childhood home in Brooklyn Thursday as he weighs whether to run for mayor,” NBC 4 New York reports.
“The Democratic former congressman who resigned his seat two years ago amid a sexting scandal was wearing a shirt and tie and was seated on the steps next to his wife, Huma Abedin, as a camera crew and several other handlers looked on. The crew quickly packed up and left after they were spotted.”
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“The voters spoke, and I get it. Living goes on. I’m not going to cry in my beer.”
— Former Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), quoted by the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, on his defeat in last year’s elections.
Edwards Back Out in Public
John Edwards is hitting the speaking circuit with an appearance on June 6, the AP reports.
“Edwards has remained largely out of public view since his May 2012 acquittal on one charge of campaign finance fraud. A judge declared a mistrial on five other criminal counts after jurors couldn’t agree if Edwards illegally used campaign money to hide his pregnant mistress as he ran for president in 2008.”
Scandals Already Falling Apart
Ezra Klein: “The crucial ingredient for a scandal is the prospect of high-level White House involvement and wide political repercussions. Government wrongdoing is boring. Scandals can bring down presidents, decide elections and revive down-and-out political parties. Scandals can dominate American politics for months at a time.”
“On Tuesday, it looked like we had three possible political scandals brewing. Two days later, with much more evidence available, it doesn’t look like any of them will pan out. There’ll be more hearings, and more bad press for the Obama administration, and more demands for documents. But — and
this is a key qualification — absent more revelations, the scandals
that could reach high don’t seem to include any real wrongdoing, whereas
the ones that include real wrongdoing don’t reach high enough.”
GOP Attempt to Embarrass Democrats Backfires
“An attempt by the National Republican Congressional Committee to embarrass Democrats went awry on Thursday, when the group published a blog post riddled with errors,” the Huffington Post reports.
Dog Whistle Politics
Here’s one to pre-order: Dog Whistle Politics by Ian Haney-Lopez.
Tancredo Mulls Another Bid for Colorado Governor
Former Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO), “known for his hard-line stances on immigration, is strongly considering a run for governor in 2014,” the Denver Post reports.
“In 2010, Tancredo ran in a tumultuous gubernatorial contest as a third-party candidate, netting more than 35 percent of the vote in a lopsided Democratic victory by then-Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper. Republican candidate Dan Maes received 11 percent of the vote.”
Tancredo has since switched his party affiliation back to Republican.
Cooter Strikes Back at Markey
Former Rep. Ben “Cooter” Jones (D-GA) writes in the Boston Globe about being dis-invited to a fundraiser for Rep. Ed Markey’s (D-MA) U.S. Senate campaign.
“It isn’t every day that one makes preparations to go and play music for some friends but instead ends up being portrayed in the national press and on the Internet as some sort of antediluvian racist who should not be seen in the company of someone aspiring to the Senate. But that’s what happened to me Tuesday.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“We’re broke, broke, broke.”
— Alabama Democratic Party Chair Nancy Worley, quoted by the Birmingham News, announcing the party was evicted from its headquarters for not paying rent.
