Good Thursday morning.
Here’s what is on the president’s agenda today:
- The president has lunch with the secretary of defense
- President Trump meets with the secretary general of NATO
- The president participates in an expanded bilateral meeting with the secretary general of NATO
Lots of jibber-jabber on the RUSSIA-collusion front
As you read stories about the Trump Tower transcripts, remember that Natalia Veselnitskaya (RUSSIAN) was a client of Fusion GPS, the firm responsible for the salacious and unverified dossier. Remember that Glenn Simpson met with Veselnitskaya right before and after the Trump Tower meeting. Crazy coincidence, right?
Senate releases interview transcripts from Trump Tower investigation. Read them at the link.
What Paul Manafort’s Trump Tower notes mean
Miscellaneous RUSSIA-collusion roundup
The New York Times has an awful, biased, misleading story: Code Name Crossfire Hurricane: The Secret Origins of the Trump Investigation. The piece is really a propaganda/PR piece for the intelligence community, extolling their virtues and how they toiled and battled with ethical dilemmas over the Clinton and Trump investigations. Gimme a break. It’s so obvious an attempt to get out in front of whatever will be revealed in the IG report.
Yesterday we learned the FBI acknowledged it can’t indict a sitting president because they want you to know that they would indict Trump but they can’t. Of course we have no evidence of any crimes that Trump would be indicted for, yet CNN reports its wishcasting:
That conclusion is likely based on longstanding Justice Department guidelines. It is not about any assessment of the evidence Mueller’s team has compiled.
A lack of an indictment would not necessarily mean the President is in the clear. Mueller could issue a report making referrals or recommendations to the House of Representatives.
Related:
They ignored the offer, but ABC News left that out of the headline: Russian social media giant offered pro-Trump effort during campaign
Leaker of Michael Cohen’s financial records makes another explosive accusation
Russian company playing hardball with Mueller’s team
Senate passes net neutrality
Senate Democrats approved a measure to quash the Federal Communications Commission’s plan to overturn so-called net neutrality rules.
But major hurdles still face supporters of net neutrality, the principle that Internet Service Providers should give consumers access to all legal content and applications on an equal basis, not favoring some sources or blocking others.
Three Republicans crossed over to vote with the Democrats to drag the bill the across the finish line: Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine; Sen. John Kennedy, R-La.; and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. Thanks, guys.
Because it’s campaign season, elected officials shun voting on anything “controversial” and start acting on legislation they think will gain them favor with their voters.
By forcing a public vote on the issue — one that’s popular with voters — Democrats hope to hike pre-midterm election pressure on enough lawmakers to gain a majority in the House. Passage in the Senate would “send a clear message to American families that we support them, not the special interest agenda of President Trump and his broadband baron allies,” said Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., who sponsored the CRA resolution.
And speaking of making stupid legislative moves during campaign season…
More GOPers sign on to DACA after Ryan tells them not to
So far, 20 Republicans have signed on to the bill. Only five more are needed to force a vote.
Two more Republicans signed on to a measure that would force an immigration vote in the House just hours after Speaker Paul Ryan urged his colleagues not to in a closed-door meeting Wednesday.
The momentum of the petition, paired with threats from conservatives to cause problems if the effort continues to move, prompted House leadership to summon both key moderate and conservative members to meet in Ryan’s offices with the full GOP leadership team Wednesday evening. But the issue remained far from resolved.
If you are unaware of what’s going on with this DACA bill and if you thought the GOP was in charge of the House, let me help you out:
A group of moderate Republicans are backing a plan to bypass GOP leaders by forcing a floor vote on four competing bills to preserve the Obama-era DACA program, which protected young undocumented immigrants who came to the US as children. Trump has decided to end the program, though it’s currently tied up in the courts.
The move, called a discharge petition, now has 20 Republican supporters. When Katko and Trott signed during the first vote series of the day — which is the main opportunity that lawmakers have to sign by hand the petition kept on the House floor — Republican petition backers, California’s Jeff Denham and Curbelo, were seen walking the floor, talking to members and each other.
“Obviously we do not agree with discharge petitions. We think they’re a big mistake — they dis-unify our majority,” Ryan said. “We want to advance something that has a chance of going into law where the President would support it.”
Developing…
Your daily WTF
Historical picture of the day:
A truck is almost buried in people as it makes its way through the crowd of thousands gathered in Tiananmen Square for a pro-democracy rally, Wednesday, May 17, 1989, Beijing, China. (AP Photo/Sadayuki Mikami)
Other morsels:
Media Misinformation On Vaping May Be Scaring Smokers ‘Away From E-Cigarettes’
House votes to expand veterans’ access to private care
Trump HHS considers using military bases to house immigrant children
Airlines must continue to accept service animals: U.S. agency
Feel the Bern: Socialists celebrate winning four Democratic nominations in PA
Flake comes out against Haspel’s nomination to lead CIA
YouTube removed GOP candidate’s ‘deportation bus’ ad for hate speech — then put it back up
Trump asks Sessions to consider prosecuting Oakland mayor over ICE raid
Preet Bharara being drafted for war on Trump
Naked man shot by police after striking car was science teacher
New court papers suggest Las Vegas shooter ranted about gun control days before shooting
Boulder, Colorado, unanimously votes to ban assault weapons, high-capacity magazines
Surgeon General Jerome Adams saves the day when airline passenger suffers medical emergency
Michigan State University reaches $500 million settlement with Larry Nassar victims
An antibiotic-resistant strain of ‘super gonorrhea’ is spreading around the globe
White House says ‘couple of bad actors’ responsible for latest leaks
And that’s all I’ve got, now go beat back that angry mob!
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