Political Wire

Cummings Wrote That He Endured ‘Pure Pain’ from Trump

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“In the months before his death, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) wrote that he endured ‘pure pain’ from repeated Twitter attacks by President Trump — whom he once wanted to trust — but resolved not to be baited into responding in anger, the Baltimore Sun reports.

Wrote Cummings, in a new book to be released next week: “You can imagine it and try to dismiss it, saying he’s just a blowhard and schoolyard tough guy, using his thumbs on Twitter like fists. But the reality, the harsh cold onslaught, is just pure pain.”

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Pelosi Hammers Trump for Attacking Cummings

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Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) fiercely defended Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) in the wake of President Trump’s attacks on the Maryland Democrat and the Baltimore-area district he represents, The Hill reports.

Said Pelosi: “The president without — and this comes as no surprise — really doesn’t know what he’s talking about. But maybe he could ask his son-in-law, who’s a slumlord.”

Baltimore Newspaper Lashes Out at Trump

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A Baltimore Sun editorial rips President Trump for calling Baltimore “rat infested” in a series of tweets attacking Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD):

While we would not sink to name-calling in the Trumpian manner — or ruefully point out that he failed to spell the congressman’s name correctly (it’s Cummings, not Cumming) — we would tell the most dishonest man to ever occupy the Oval Office, the mocker of war heroes, the gleeful grabber of women’s private parts, the serial bankrupter of businesses, the useful idiot of Vladimir Putin and the guy who insisted there are “good people” among murderous neo-Nazis that he’s still not fooling most Americans into believing he’s even slightly competent in his current post. Or that he possesses a scintilla of integrity. Better to have some vermin living in your neighborhood than to be one.

Trump Doubles Down on Attacks on Cummings

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President Trump doubled down late Saturday on his attacks against Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) and his Baltimore congressional district, saying that it’s “sad” that the longtime congressman has done “so little” for the city he represents, The Hill reports.

Said Trump: “So sad that Elijah Cummings has been able to do so little for the people of Baltimore… Cummings has done nothing but milk Baltimore dry, but the public is getting wise to the bad job that he is doing!”

Washington Post: “The outburst also undercut efforts by many Republicans over the past two weeks to defend Trump and insist that his earlier attacks were based in ideology rather than race.”

“But Trump’s advisers had concluded after the previous tweets that the overall message sent by such attacks is good for the president among his political base — resonating strongly with the white working-class voters he needs to win reelection in 2020.”

Trump Rages at Elijah Cummings

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President Trump slammed House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-MD) on Twitter  as a “brutal bully,” claiming the longtime congressman’s Baltimore district is “far worse” and “more dangerous” than the southern border.

Said Trump: ““Cumming’s District is a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess. If he spent more time in Baltimore, maybe he could help clean up this very dangerous & filthy place.”

Democrats Grapple with Trump’s Refusal to Cooperate

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“House Democrats are grappling with how to respond to President Trump’s blanket resistance to cooperating with their investigations — defiance that legal experts say could upend the nation’s fundamental principle of checks and balances,” the Washington Post reports.

“House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-MD) announced plans on Tuesday to hold one Trump administration official who defied a subpoena in contempt of Congress and has threatened a second with the same punishment if he failed to show for a Thursday deposition. And with Trump promising to bar all former and current aides from testifying, the House began confronting the possibility of issuing multiple contempt citations and initiating civil litigation to defend its oversight role.”

Said Cummings: “This is a massive, unprecedented, and growing pattern of obstruction.”

New York Times: “Mr. Trump’s flurry of moves this week to block multiple congressional investigations signaled a new phase of constitutional friction that could redefine long-murky boundaries of Congress’s power to conduct oversight of the executive branch — and the power of presidents to keep government affairs secret from lawmakers.”

Trump Attorneys May Have Lied About Cohen Payments

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House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-MD) said that his panel received new documents showing that two attorneys for President Trump may have lied to government ethics officials about Michael Cohen’s payments to women alleging affairs with the president ahead of the 2016 election, Politico reports.

Said Cummings: “It now appears that President Trump’s other attorneys — at the White House and in private practice — may have provided false information about these payments to federal officials.”

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.

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