The Morning Briefing: NYT 'Sources' Unhappy with Barr 'Narrative' and Much, Much More

Good Thursday morning.

Here is what’s on the president’s agenda today:

The president participates in the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council meeting
President Trump receives his intelligence briefing
The president meets with the vice premier of the People’s Republic of China

Important: National Burrito Day features specials from Chipotle, Moe’s, Del Taco and more Thursday

The war against Trump

The New York Times published a gossip piece yesterday, trying to remind their demoralized Trump-RUSSIA cult readers that the Mueller report is, in fact, bad for Trump.

Some of Robert S. Mueller III’s investigators have told associates that Attorney General William P. Barr failed to adequately portray the findings of their inquiry and that they were more troubling for President Trump than Mr. Barr indicated, according to government officials and others familiar with their simmering frustrations.

Is there anyone out there that doesn’t think there are bad things about Trump, his family, and his associates in that report? Come on now. But there are no indictments and that’s the kicker, because the vast unhinged masses were promised the orange man was going to prison. Here’s the real cause for concern from these “government officials and others familiar with their simmering frustrations”:

Some members of Mr. Mueller’s team are concerned that, because Mr. Barr created the first narrative of the special counsel’s findings, Americans’ views will have hardened before the investigation’s conclusions become public.

Oooooh, I see, I see. These “officials” wanted their narrative floating around because this is all really a narrative war.

The facts of the Barr letter will remain the same when the Mueller report is released: there was no evidence of collusion, cooperation or conspiracy; no one was or will be indicted on any crimes related to the fake RUSSIA-collusion mythology, and that there were no charges brought against Trump or those close to him on obstruction. The Democrats in Congress just want this information to continue the butthurt investigation of the president because they lost the election and want to obstruct his agenda.

So what exactly are the objections of these NYT “sources”?

The officials and others interviewed declined to flesh out why some of the special counsel’s investigators viewed their findings as potentially more damaging for the president than Mr. Barr explained, although the report is believed to examine Mr. Trump’s efforts to thwart the investigation.

Just more spin. Barr said he will release the report when he has complied with the legal requirements surrounding its disclosure. End of story. Everything else is political posturing.

Dems escalate Mueller demands with subpoena

FISA Motion Allowed FBI To Share US Citizens’ Info With Foreign Agencies. Here’s How That May Have Played Into The Russia Probe

Dems want Trump’s taxes

Moving right along, Politico wants you to know that “in a single day, House Democrats demanded President Donald Trump’s tax returns for six years, moved to get a decade’s worth of his financial records and prepared to issue a subpoena for the full Mueller report from the Justice Department” and that this was all “more by accident than design.”

Of course. Yesterday, the House Ways and Means Committee sent a letter to the IRS to turn over six years of the president’s tax returns.

In a letter to IRS Commissioner Charles P. Rettig, Massachusetts Rep. Richard Neal said he wanted to investigate whether the IRS is following its policy of auditing the sitting president’s and vice president’s tax returns.

“This request is about policy, not politics; my preparations were made on my own track and timeline, entirely independent of other activities in Congress and the Administration,” he said. “My actions reflect an abiding reverence for our democracy and our institutions, and are in no way based on emotion of the moment or partisanship.”

In no way, sure. The Democrats didn’t care about the IRS when it was abusing its authority all over the tea party, did they?

Trump doesn’t seem interested in releasing his own taxes. “I’m always under audit,” said Trump. “Until such time as I’m not under audit, I would not be inclined to do it.”

The war against Joe

The operation against former veep Joe Biden continued yesterday as Biden released a “not exactly sorry” video regarding the allegations that he is an inappropriate toucher and some more ladies came forward.

“Social norms are changing. I understand that, and I’ve heard what these women are saying,” Biden tweeted. “Politics to me has always been about making connections, but I will be more mindful about respecting personal space in the future. That’s my responsibility and I will meet it.”

Vail Kohnert-Yount, Sofie Karasek, and Ally Coll all shared their stories of Biden touching them in a way-too-familiar manner.

Do you think Biden’s video will help him? I continue to wonder why all these principled folks weren’t talking about creepy Uncle Joe when he was behaving with his hands during his time in a very powerful political position. Was it because their principles are not more important than their power?

You can watch Biden’s video here.

“Folks, in the coming month I expect to be talking about a whole lot of issues, and I’ll always be direct with you. But today I want to talk about gestures of support and encouragement that I’ve made to women and some men that have made them uncomfortable,” Biden said. “And I’ll always try to be, in my career, I’ve always tried to make a human connection. That’s my responsibility, I think. I shake hands, I hug people. I grab men and women by the shoulders and say ‘you can do this.’ And whether they’re women, men, young, old, it’s the way I’ve always been. It’s the way I’ve tried to show I care about them and I’m listening.”

Will this keep Biden out of the presidential race? I don’t think so.

Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax releases polygraph results, reiterates claim of innocence

Biden accuser D.J. Hill defends decision to come forward: ‘We’re patriots’ seeking ‘cultural change’

Historical picture of the day: