“Attorney Michael Avenatti will not face felony charges based on allegations of domestic violence lodged against him by a 24-year-old actress,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
“Avenatti has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, lashed out at media outlets and insinuated in a series of tweets that his arrest was a setup by a conservative activist.”
“An actress who says she had a relationship with Michael Avenatti alleges he dragged her by the arm across the floor of his Los Angeles apartment after an argument,” the AP reports.
Avenatti says the allegations are “completely false” and “fabricated.” He says he’ll be fully vindicated after a thorough investigation.
Cindy McCain told CBS News that “one or two” of her children might have political aspirations like their father, the late Sen. John McCain (R-AZ).
Said McCain: “There are two I know that won’t, but there’s two that I think will.”
She declined to name which of their four children (John McCain had three other children from a previous marriage), but added: “They’ve all grown up in politics. It’s hard not to – you either catch the bug or you don’t.”
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Michael Avenatti, who became famous for representing Stormy Daniels in her battle with President Trump, has been arrested for felony domestic violence, law enforcement sources tell TMZ.
Fox News host Sean Hannity appeared on stage with President Trump at his Missouri rally to parrot his midterm campaign slogans — despite earlier insisting he would only be covering the event as a journalist, the Daily Beast reports.
Said Hannity: “I had no idea you were going to invite me up here.”
New York Times: “The show onstage might well have been called Fox & Friend.”
Author Stephen King urged Iowans to defeat Rep. Steve King (R-IA), The Hill reports.
Said King: “Iowans, for personal reasons I hope you’ll vote Steve King out. I’m tired of being confused with this racist dumbbell.”
A new Daily Beast/Ipsos poll finds Kanye West’s favorability rating stands at 22%, with an 11% favorability rating among Democrats, 40% among Republicans, and 15% among Independents.
“Those numbers were among the worst of the nearly 20 public figures polled, reflecting the damage that the cultural icon has done to his image with his foray into politics. West is less popular than Donald Trump, Oprah Winfrey, Barack Obama, Stormy Daniels, Colin Kaepernick, Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Jeff Bezos, Nikki Haley, Nancy Pelosi, Michael Bloomberg, and Beto O’Rourke. He is even less popular than Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, who is deeply despised by vast portions of Democratic voters and not that beloved by his own Republicans either.”
“Oprah Winfrey, the Oscar-nominated, self-made billionaire and media icon, is heading to Georgia to campaign for Stacey Abrams,” BuzzFeed News reports.
“The star will join Abrams, the Democratic candidate for governor, on Thursday. If Abrams wins the race, she will be the first black woman governor in the history of the U.S.”
Alex Cora, manager of the 2018 World Series champion Boston Red Sox, was asked if the team will visit President Trump at the White House but said that decision has not yet been made, CBS Boston reports.
Said Cora: “We’ll talk about it later on.”
Cora has been very critical of the president’s response to hurricane damage in Puerto Rico.
“Amy Schumer’s decision to support Colin Kaepernick by refusing to do Super Bowl ads is the latest sign that advertising’s biggest stage is becoming increasingly political for brands,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Some Super Bowl ads already are stirring up partisan passions, like the 2017 Budweiser ad about the brand’s immigrant roots, which some called a critique of President Trump’simmigration policies. Now every spot is under the microscope, and the scrutiny is even creeping beyond the ads’ content.”
Axios: “The Super Bowl was once a coveted event at which brands competed for commercial space and celebrities were anxious to perform. But as the nation’s politics become more polarized and Kaepernick remains jobless, the league’s biggest game has become a lightning rod for controversy.”
Caitlyn Jenner writes in the Washington Post:
Following Trump’s election as president, I saw fertile ground for change within the Republican Party on LGBTQ issues… I believed I could work within the party and the Trump administration to shift the minds of those who most needed shifting.
Sadly, I was wrong. The reality is that the trans community is being relentlessly attacked by this president. The leader of our nation has shown no regard for an already marginalized and struggling community. He has ignored our humanity. He has insulted our dignity…. This is politics at its worst. It is unacceptable, it is upsetting, and it has deeply, personally hurt me.
Believing that I could work with Trump and his administration to support our community was a mistake.
A suspicious package and device similar to others sent to top Democrats and others this week was sent to a building that houses offices for Tribeca Films and Tribeca Grill that Robert De Niro owns, law enforcement and sources tell NBC News New York.
Rihanna turned down performing at the Super Bowl Halftime Show out of support for Colin Kaepernick, Us Weekly reports.
Said one source: “The NFL and CBS really wanted Rihanna to be next year’s performer in Atlanta. They offered it to her, but she said no because of the kneeling controversy. She doesn’t agree with the NFL’s stance.”
President Trump called Stormy Daniels “Horseface” in a tweet denouncing her legal efforts against him as a “total con!”
The tweet follows a judge’s ruling dismissing Daniels’ defamation lawsuit against Trump.
New York Times: “The president’s use of the term ‘horseface’ was jarring, even though he has previously used similar disparaging language to describe women who challenge him. But it could also prove problematic for Republicans facing female opponents in the upcoming midterm elections, now just weeks away.”
Stormy Daniels tells The Cut that it’s annoying when reporters use her birth name, Stephanie Clifford, in stories about her relationship with Donald Trump.
Said Daniels: “Yeah. And also, they insist upon printing my real name in every fucking story. They don’t do that to Bruno Mars or Lady Gaga or Charlie Sheen — but even the most feminist, evolved journalists, they still think subconsciously that I’m less human and I’m not worth the respect of printing my chosen name.”
“President Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, are expected to meet with the musician Kanye West on Thursday at the White House,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. West, who has faced a backlash over his vocal support of the president, will meet first with Mr. Kushner and then have lunch with the president.”
“In a stunning turnaround from her refusal to discuss anything related to politics, Taylor Swift revealed whom she’s voting for in the 2018 midterms,” the Washington Post reports.
“The pop megastar, who just wrapped up a 40-date stadium tour across the country, posted a long Instagram caption Sunday night. In it, Swift, who is registered to vote in Tennessee, gave a detailed explanation about why she’s voting for Democrats Phil Bredesen for Senate and Jim Cooper for the House.”
Swift also slammed Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN): “Her voting record in Congress appalls and terrifies me.”
Track Palin, the oldest son of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, “will spend a year in custody after a judge ruled Wednesday that allegations of hitting a woman on the head disqualified him from a therapeutic program for veterans tied to a separate assault case,” CBS News reports.
“The Department of Corrections will determine if he serves time at the halfway house or behind bars.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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