Late Morning Update:
Image of a $20 note produced by the Bureau of Engraving & Printing.
... Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "Extensive work was well underway on a new $20 bill bearing the image of Harriet Tubman when Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced last month that the design of the note would be delayed for technical reasons by six years and might not include the former slave and abolitionist.... Mr. Mnuchin, testifying before Congress, said new security features under development made the 2020 design deadline set by the Obama administration impossible to meet....In fact, work on the new $20 note began before Mr. Trump took office, and the basic design already on paper most likely could have satisfied the goal of unveiling a note bearing Tubman's likeness on next year's centennial of the 19th Amendment.... A current employee of the [Bureau of Engraving and Printing] ... said that the design appeared to be far along in the process."
Justin Fishel & Lucien Bruggeman of ABC News: "... Donald Trump is directly disputing the account of a key witness in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into possible obstruction of justice during the course of the Russia probe saying that it 'doesn't matter' what his former White House counsel Don McGahn testified.... Trump [told George Stephanopoulos] McGahn 'may have been confused' when he told Mueller that Trump instructed him multiple times to have the acting attorney general remove the special counsel because of perceived conflicts of interest. 'The story on that very simply, No. 1, I was never going to fire Mueller. I never suggested firing Mueller,' Trump told Stephanopoulos." Mrs. McC: If there was any basis for Trump's claim of executive privilege re: McGahn, there isn't anymore. By discussing the matter publicly & disputing McGahn's sworn testimony, Trump has waived any claim of executive privilege. McGahn has the right, for one thing, to publicly defend his testimony. ...
... In Another Attempted Clean-up, Trump Again Vows to Collude with Foreign Governments. Jordan Fabian of the Hill: "Trump on Friday [told Fox 'News'] he would 'of course' look at dirt from a foreign government on his political opponents, but stated he would give it to the FBI if he knew it was 'bad.' The comments were Trump's latest attempt to do damage control over his comments to ABC News that he would accept damaging information about his rivals from hostile powers, which drew widespread backlash in Washington.... He added that 'if I thought anything was incorrect or badly stated I'd report to the FBI or law enforcement, absolutely.'... Despite the blowback he has faced from Democrats and Republicans, Trump said 'I've had a lot of support' for his position, but did not cite any examples. The president insisted he made it clear in his interview with ABC that he would report damaging information to the FBI, even though he told anchor George Stephanopoulos he would 'maybe' do so." ...
... Mitch Is Like, "Whatever." Matthew Choi of Politico: "Speaking with Fox News' Laura Ingraham on Thursday night, the Senate majority leader spoke with exasperation over the backlash the president has received for saying he would hear out foreign assistance if offered in the 2020 election. McConnell portrayed the comments as a nonstory, saying Congress had legislative agendas to focus on. 'They just can't let it go, Laura,' McConnell said. 'I said weeks ago, case closed. We got the Mueller report, the only objective evaluation that will be conducted.'" ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: So even if the Mueller report had exonerated Trump, which of course it did not, according to Mitch, nothing Trump does or says thereafter can be scrutinized, either. So a "forever" get-out-of-jail-free card. The last time I got stopped for speeding, the policeman did not give me a ticket, even though I was definitely speeding. If I had one of Mitch's cards, I could go on speeding every time I got behind the wheel, with no legal consequences.
... Trump Can't Take the Heat, Insults Stephanopoulos. Joe Concha of the Hill: "President Trump pushed back at ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos during a testy interview, calling him 'a little wise guy.' Stephanopoulos was pressing the president on not answering questions in person from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team. 'Wait a minute. I did answer questions. I answered them in writing,' Trump said. 'Not on obstruction.' Stephanopoulos replied. 'George, you're being a little wise guy, OK, which is, you know, typical for you,' Trump hit back. 'Just so you understand. Very simple. It's very simple. There was no crime. There was no collusion. The big thing's collusion. Now, there's no collusion. That means ... it was a setup, in my opinion, and I think it's going to come out,' he continued." ...
... Politico: "... Donald Trump said on Friday that he has no plans to fire top aide Kellyanne Conway after an independent federal agency recommended that she be removed from her job after she repeatedly used her office for political purposes.... On Friday, Trump fiercely defended Conway and criticized the Hatch Act, saying it unfairly muzzles officials." Mrs. McC: So New Trump Rule: If the President* Says a Law Is "Unfair," He Doesn't Have to Obey It. Expect the rule to apply to court orders, too.
Ben Dooley of the New York Times: "One of the tankers that were attacked in the Gulf of Oman was struck by a flying object, the ship's Japanese operator said on Friday, expressing doubt that a mine had been attached to its hull. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday that American intelligence agencies had concluded that Tehran was behind the disabling of two tankers in the Gulf of Oman, a vital conduit for much of the world's oil.... In an interview broadcast on Friday by 'Fox & Friends,' President Trump directly accused Tehran, saying, 'Iran did do it.'... But Yutaka Katada, the [tanker] company's president, citing accounts from the ship's crew, said Friday: 'I do not think there was a time bomb or an object attached to the side of the ship.'"
Brian Faler of Politico: "Federal tax payments by big businesses are falling much faster than anticipated in the wake of Republicans' tax cuts, providing ammunition to Democrats who are calling for corporate tax increases. The U.S. Treasury saw a 31 percent drop in corporate tax revenues last year, almost twice the decline official budget forecasters had predicted. Receipts were projected to rebound sharply this year, but so far they've only continued to fall, down by almost 9 percent or $11 billion. Though business profits remain healthy and the economy is strong, total corporate taxes are at the lowest levels seen in more than 50 years. At the same time, overall taxes paid by individuals under the new tax law are up so far this year by 3 percent, thanks to higher wages and salaries, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Last year tax payments by individuals went up 4 percent."
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Michael Kruse of Politico: "Four years ago, Donald Trump stepped onto an escalator in the atrium of Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in New York and began descending into a lobby packed with cameras. It's safe to say the 10 or so seconds that followed are the most consequential escalator ride in American history. The cranked-up soundtrack was Neil Young's 'Rockin' in the Free World.' The cued-up crowd was made up of loyal staff, bemused reporters, people given 50 bucks to wave signs and make noise, and tourists and bystanders dressed up in early MAGA merchandise they'd just been handed. And they watched Trump, the director and leading man of his own lifelong show, standing and waving and giving a thumbs-up, trailing behind his smiling, stiletto-heeled wife, gliding through his habitat of marble and brass toward his discursive, xenophobic speech, his unprecedented candidacy and ultimately the White House." ...
The only thing he missed was a fog machine at the top of the escalator so that he could appear out of a mist.... If you saw it in a Batman movie where a villain was staging his announcement, it would look a lot like this. It would be staged in the same way. … A movie villain would live in a golden tower in the middle of a metropolis. He would have bodyguards. He would have paid courtiers. He would glide down the golden escalator. -- Michael D'Antonio, reflecting on Trump's announcement theatrics
The Trump Scandals, Ctd.
It's the Media's Fault. Also Prince of Whales. Peter Baker & Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "President Trump on Thursday defended his willingness to accept campaign help from Russia or other foreign governments by equating it to the sort of diplomatic meetings he holds with world leaders as the nation's chief executive.... 'I meet and talk to "foreign governments" every day,' he wrote Thursday on Twitter. 'I just met with the Queen of England (U.K.), the Prince of Whales, the P.M. of the United Kingdom, the P.M. of Ireland, the President of France and the President of Poland. We talked about "Everything!"' he added, misspelling the title of Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, before fixing and reposting it. 'Should I immediately call the FBI about these calls and meetings?' he continued 'How ridiculous! I would never be trusted again. With that being said, my full answer is rarely played by the Fake News Media. They purposely leave out the part that matters.' The comparison was startling even for Mr. Trump. Having tea with the queen of England is hardly the same as taking clandestine help from agents of President Vladimir V. Putin as part of a concerted campaign by Russian intelligence to tilt an American presidential election." (Also linked yesterday.) ...
... The story has been substantially updated to cover reaction to Trump's announcement that in 2020 he would collude with, say, Norway (or a hostile foreign government) in order to get dirt on his opponent. For instance, "Irritated at what they considered an unnecessary distraction, Republicans, including some of the president's staunchest supporters, joined in the chorus of criticism. While some sought to turn the tables on Democrats by accusing them of taking foreign help, too, Republicans flatly rejected Mr. Trump's insistence that it was acceptable."
... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Trump's declaration is even more astounding than Baker & Fandos let on. It's an honor-among-thieves defense in which Trump promises U.S. adversaries that he'll keep their secrets if they dish dirt that benefits him. Very mob-bossy. See Patrick's commentary in yesterday's thread explaining what happens when a foreign official speaks by phone to a :real" president. ...
... Kevin Drum: "In Trump's interview [Wednesday] with George Stephanopoulos, neither man explicitly mentioned getting oppo from foreign 'governments.' I figured this was negligent on Stephanopoulos's part and deliberate on Trump's part, but obviously that's not the case. In today's tweet, Trump specifically said he thought it was just fine for him to talk to 'foreign governments.' Since the context is campaign oppo, he's saying that it's OK for a presidential candidate to accept scuttlebutt from an agent of a foreign government. I didn't think that even Trump would admit to that, but as usual, it turns out that he's even worse than I ever thought." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Since Republicans -- House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy & Sen. Lindsey Graham, for instance -- are accusing Hillary Clinton of doing the same thing vis-a-vis the Steele dossier, let's clear that up. As Baker notes, Christopher Steele "was not working for a hostile government and he turned over his findings to the F.B.I." AND Bill McCarthy of Politifact: "Experts we spoke to described a range of differences between the type of information Trump said he would accept and what Clinton's campaign was paying Fusion GPS for. The main difference is the role of a foreign government. 'Working hand-in-hand with a foreign power for information intended to influence an election is different than hiring a private firm that then hired somebody who had been a former intelligence agent,' said Karen Greenberg, director of the Center on National Security at Fordham Law.... 'One is collecting intelligence and the other is an active measure by a foreign power to achieve a political end of some sort,' [former CIA intelligence agent Glenn] Carle said. 'There’s no comparison at all.'" ...
... AND let's see how upset Republicans actually are to Trump's illegal, unethical & mind-boggling declaration. Zachary Basu of Axios: "Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) blocked an effort by Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) to pass a bill via unanimous consent requiring campaigns to report any offers of foreign assistance to the FBI." ...
... Camilo Montoya-Galvez of CBS News: "President Trump's 2020 reelection campaign will handle damaging information on political opponents provided by foreign governments and entities on a 'case by case basis,' according to the campaign's top spokesperson. Asked about Mr. Trump's assertion that he would be receptive to dirt on rivals offered by foreigners, Kayleigh McEnany, the national press secretary for the president's reelection bid, told CBSN ... that campaign staff should take the president's comments as a 'directive' to handle foreign dirt through a two-pronged approach. "The president's directive, as he said, [it's] a case by case basis. He said he would likely do both: Listen to what they have to say, but also report it to the FBI," McEnany said. She denied that the president's comments were an "open invitation" for foreign actors to interfere in the 2020 campaign." Mrs. McC: Okay, so this is a confirmation that the campaign will happily violate the law by collecting (and presumably using) "dirt," then -- "on a case by case basis" -- maybe tell the FBI what country provided the dirt, in accordance with Trump's "directive." Who could have a problem with that? ...
... Oh. Matthew Choi of Politico: "The head of the Federal Election Commission released a statement on Thursday evening reiterating, emphatically, that foreign assistance is illegal in U.S. elections. 'Let me make something 100% clear to the American public and anyone running for public office: It is illegal for any person to solicit, accept, or receive anything of value from a foreign national in connection with a U.S. election,' wrote Ellen Weintraub, chairwoman of the FEC. 'This is not a novel concept.' She also sent the statement via Twitter with the introductory line: 'I would not have thought that I needed to say this.'" Mrs. McC: George W. Bush appointed Weintraub. I suppose Trump the mobster thinks it's hilarious that a little old lady thinks she can make him behave himself. Would that Chris Ray had Weintraub's guts. ...
... Darren Samuelsohn & Natasha Bertrand of Politico: "Nearly two years ago, FBI Director Chris Wray set up an office tasked solely with stopping the type of Russian interference efforts that infected the 2016 campaign. On Wednesday night..., Donald Trump undercut the whole operation in a matter of seconds. In [the] ABC News interview, the president first proclaimed he would have no problem accepting dirt on his opponents from a foreign power, then said Wray was 'wrong' to suggest the FBI needs to know about such offers. The comments, according to interviews with nearly a dozen law enforcement veterans, have undone months of work, essentially inviting foreign spies to meddle with 2020 presidential campaigns and demoralizing the agents trying to stop them. And it has backed Wray into a corner, they added, putting him in a position where he might have to either publicly chastise the president and risk getting fired, or resign in protest. America's enemies will see Trump's comments and likely 'come out of the woodwork like never before to try to influence the president,' said longtime FBI veteran Frank Figliuzzi, who served as the bureau's assistant director for counterintelligence until 2012. 'And it's going to be more difficult to defend against because they&'ll try harder than ever to mask their attempts.'" ...
... Napolitano Shocks Foxbots Again. Justin Baragona of the Daily Beast: "Reacting to President Trump saying he would accept foreign intel on a political opponent if offered, and that he doesn't feel it's necessary to contact the FBI, Fox News senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano on Thursday said he worries the president is 'prepared to commit a felony.' Napolitano was asked by Fox News anchor Shep Smith if there was any 'gray area' or 'wiggle room' when it comes to campaigns legally receiving 'dirt from a foreign entity on a political opponent.' 'There's no wiggle room with respect to dirt,' the judge responded. 'With respect to opposition research. The Federal Election Commission decided in other cases that that is a thing of value.'... 'The president of the United States of America is prepared to commit a felony to get re-elected,' Napolitano concluded." ...
... Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: "In a new interview with ABC News's George Stephanopoulos, parts of which were released on Wednesday evening, Donald Trump announced his willingness to betray and subvert American democracy, again.... With the end of Robert Mueller's special counsel investigation, House Democrats' craven fear of launching an impeachment inquiry, and the abject capitulation of Republicans to Trumpian authoritarianism, the president is reveling in his own impunity.... I know everyone's tired. But democracy is not going to save itself." ...
... Susan Glasser of the New Yorker: Trump, instead of proclaiming 'no collusion,' now seemed to be announcing that he is pro-collusion.... In Washington, Democrats currently have two opposite and contradictory theories of the case.... A fight between Pelosi and her fellow-Democrats is exactly what Trump wants. He seeks division and discord; he benefits from it." Glasser, who was in Germany this week, elaborates on Trump's relationships with European leaders, & discusses, among other things, Trump's announced decision to transfer a thousand U.S. troops from Germany to Poland because Poland's winger nationalistic president Andrzej Duda has kissed up to him & promised to build a "Fort Trump" in Poland if Trump will permanently station U.S. troops there. "... the vision of an America whose foreign policy is driven by personal pique, whose troops can be rented out by the highest, most obsequious bidder, is a searing one. In a week of outrages, this was far from the worst, but in some ways it ranks among the most consequential."
Caitlin Oprysko of Politico: “... Donald Trump on Thursday hailed Michael Flynn's move to hire a lawyer who has been a fierce critic of the FBI's investigation into the former national security adviser. 'General Michael Flynn, the 33 year war hero who has served with distinction, has not retained a good lawyer, he has retained a GREAT LAWYER, Sidney Powell,' Trump tweeted. 'Best Wishes and Good Luck to them both!' The message from Trump is one of the strongest indicators Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about his contacts with the Russian ambassador during the presidential transition, remains in the president's good graces and hints that a pardon might still be within the realm of possibility." Mrs. McC: I can't help but suspect Flynn has something on Trump that Flynn has not divulged or that Trump thinks Flynn has not divulged. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Fred Kaplan of Slate: "... Trump's conflating his own interests with those of U.S. national security isn't so much a revelation (there have been countless instances of Trump's 'l'etat, c'est moi' attitude) but rather an extension of the syndrome into new and dangerous territory. This is detailed in a front-page story in Thursday's New York Times reporting that Attorney General William Barr wants to interview the CIA's counterintelligence analysts about precisely how they concluded that Putin ordered the hacking of the 2016 election.... Whatever you want to believe [about the motivations of the various investigators], there is nothing to be gained -- no theory abou Mueller's team would be confirmed or disputed -- by giving Barr the 'sources and methods' behind the intelligence community's conclusions. On what basis -- with what training as an intelligence analyst -- would Barr determine that the sources were unreliable or that the methods didn't justify the conclusions?... There is another distressing factor to consider.... Trump has been careless with top secrets.... This is the bottom line on Trump's suitability as president: It is an active debate -- and no one can be certain -- whether he can be trusted with the secrets on which presidents rely to do their job."
Adam Edelman of NBC News: "The House Intelligence Committee on Thursday issued subpoenas to former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn and former Trump campaign aide Rick Gates, as part of the panel's probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election. The subpoenas are for both testimony and documents, the committee's chairman, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said in a statement." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Personnel Matters -- All the Best People
Good Riddance. Jordan Fabian of the Hill: "Sarah Huckabee Sanders will leave her post as White House press secretary at the end of the month, President Trump announced on Thursday." (Also linked yesterday.)
... Replaced in a Tweet, and by Tweets. The New York Times story, by Katie Rogers & Peter Baker, is here. "Mr. Trump announced [Sanders'] departure on Thursday on Twitter, the presidential tweet having supplanted the role that a White House press secretary played in previous administrations."
Jordan Fabian & Al Weaver of the Hill: "A federal watchdog agency on Thursday urged President Trump to remove Kellyanne Conway as White House counselor over repeated violations of the Hatch Act, which bars federal employees from engaging in elections in their official capacity. The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) sent a 16-page report to Trump accusing Conway of breaking the law on numerous occasions ... 'by disparaging Democratic presidential candidates while speaking in her official capacity during television interviews and on social media' and calling on the president to oust her 'immediately.' 'As a highly visible member of the administration, Ms. Conway's violations, if left unpunished, would send a message to all federal employees that they need not abide by the Hatch Act's restrictions,' special counsel Henry Kerner wrote to Trump. 'Her actions thus erode the principal foundation of our democratic system -- the rule of law.' The White House immediately rejected the office's recommendation that Conway be fired, saying its findings are 'deeply flawed and violate her constitutional rights to free speech and due process.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Just so you don't march on the OSC waving your First Amendment flag for Kellyanne, be advised that Wikipedia says, "The Supreme Court has several times declined to hear challenges to the [Hatch Act] and has twice upheld its constitutionality." Obviously, there are numerous instances in which "free speech" arguments don't cut it. In Conway's case, for instance, she also is prohibited from revealing confidential information. I guess she can't yell "Fire!" in the White House theater, either. ...
... Five Dollar Feminist of Wonkette: "On May 29, [Kellyanne] Conway seemed to brush off any suggestion that the federal law applied to her, saying, 'Blah, blah, blah ... If you're trying to silence me through the Hatch Act, it's not going to work. Let me know when the jail sentence starts.' This appears to have been the final straw, as Special Counsel Henry Kerner wrote to the president [Thursday] morning[.]... But rule of law is not really the Trump administration's thing. White House Counsel Pat Cipollone sent one of his signature nastygrams alleging gross violations of due process and the First Amendment and "inappropriate external influence," whatever that's supposed to imply.... In an interview with the Washington Post, Special Counsel Kerner acknowledged the 'unprecedented' nature of his Office recommending that a high-ranking presidential advisor be quitfired for violating the Hatch Act, saying, 'You know what else is unprecedented? Kellyanne Conway's behavior.' Silly SCO! In Trumpland, laws are for the little people." ...
... Doug! at Balloon Juice thinks the whole Kellyanne-Hatch Act thing "seems ludicrous to me given that Obama's wardrobe advisor was not pushed out after the tan suit debacle[.]"
Ted Hesson & Anita Kumar of Politico: "John Zadrozny, an ally to White House senior adviser Stephen Miller, is expected to head to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, according to four people familiar with the plan. Zadrozny is an official at the State Department; he previously worked for the Domestic Policy Council. At USCIS he may become deputy chief of staff, two current and former Homeland Security Department officials briefed on the move told Politico. Zadrozny will join the team of newly installed USCIS acting Director Ken Cuccinelli, a vocal immigration hard-liner. As Virginia attorney general earlier this decade, Cuccinelli backed measures to end birthright citizenship and to deny unemployment benefits to workers who didn't speak English." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Eric Lipton of the New York Times: "Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has sold the stock she owned in one of the nation's biggest manufacturers of highway construction materials, just days after the holding raised questions over a potential conflict of interest. Ms. Chao sold the shares, worth $250,000 to $500,000, last Monday, according to a letter the Transportation Department released Thursday. Days earlier, The Wall Street Journal, followed by other news media, reported that she had not cashed out, as promised, stock options she held in Vulcan Materials, an Alabama-based producer of crushed stone and asphalt, where she served on the board before joining the Trump administration. On Wednesday, Ms. Chao sent a letter to the Transportation Department's top ethics lawyer, notifying the agency of the sale. In the letter, she attributed the stock holdings to an 'inadvertent misstatement' made after she was nominated in late 2016 to take over the top transportation job.... In recent weeks, Ms. Chao has been the focus of a series of news articles scrutinizing her actions since she took over the department...."
Lloyd Grove of the Daily Beast: "It has been far too long since America has heard from Louise Linton, wife of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Linton, you may recall, became instantly notorious in August 2017 as a modern-day Marie Antoinette when she bragged on Instagram about her super-rich lifestyle, and then mocked one of her online critics -- a Portland, Oregon, mother of three — for not having as opulent a bank account or paying as much as Linton does in taxes, and also for being 'adorably out of touch.'... Of course, it wasn't Linton's fault. 'That whole Instagram thing happened because I got some bad advice. My advisers at the time were telling me to be glamorous and fashionable,' she explains.... Los Angeles Magazine editor Maer Roshan has remedied the problem of Linton-free public discourse with a glamorously illustrated cover story, rife with movie-star poses, in which the 38-year-old aspiring actress dishes on how uncomfortable she's being made to feel by ... Donald Trump's hard-right social policies, and her terrible ordeal of being married to a high-ranking public servant in Washington, D.C. 'It sucks being hated,' she confides to Roshan during the three interviews she granted in her 'massive Bel Air mansion.'..." ...
... "I'm Just a Happy Girl and a Filmmaker." Mrs. McCrabbie: The LA Magazine spread includes a crotch shot, boobs shot, armpit shot, crossbow shot & numerous whiney, profanity-laced complaints about the trials of a starlet-scriptwriter-producer-director-casting director AND Cabinet wife occasionally forced to dine with Don Junior.
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Richard Pérez-Peña, et al., of the New York Times: "Apparent attacks on two tankers in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday forced their crews to abandon ship and left one vessel ablaze, a month after four tankers were damaged in the same area, raising alarms about the security of a vital passageway for much of the world's petroleum. The early morning incidents, which two shipping companies involved and the White House described as attacks, elevated tensions in a region already unsettled by the escalating conflict between the United States and some of its allies, and Iran.... It was not immediately clear how the most recent incidents unfolded or who was involved, just as the circumstances of last month's attacks remain murky." Japan's PM Shinzo Abe was visiting Iran Wednesday, and MSNBC is reporting that the tankers were carrying oil bound for Japan. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... New Lede: "Explosions crippled two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday in what the United States called 'unprovoked attacks' by Iran, raising alarms about immediate security and potential military conflict in a vital passageway for a third of the world's petroleum.Iran called the accusations part of a campaign of American disinformation and 'warmongering.'" ...
... Edward Wong of the New York Times: "Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday that intelligence reviewed by American officials showed that Iran was responsible for [the] attacks.... Mr. Pompeo did not present any evidence to back up the assessment of Iran's involvement.... Speaking at a news conference in Washington, Mr. Pompeo said the sabotage against the two tankers was only the latest in a series of recent violent acts by Iran.... Naval explosives experts were preparing Thursday to approach [one of] the stricken ship[s], to secure and to remove [an unexploded] mine [attached to the ship], and examine it for clues about who attached it to the ship, the defense official said. But before they could do so, an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps patrol boat pulled up to the side of the Courageous, according to two United States officials who said a Navy P-8 surveillance plane captured the encounter on videotape."
Julia Reinstein of BuzzFeed News: "The wife of Republican California Rep. Duncan Hunter changed her plea from not guilty to guilty in a San Diego court Thursday, admitting that she and her husband misused more than $200,000 worth of campaign funds for personal gain. Margaret Hunter admitted in court that she and her husband used the funds 'as their personal bank account,' according to the US attorney's office. She pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, for which there is a maximum sentence of five years in prison. As part of the new plea agreement, she is also required to help in the investigation of her husband and any others involved in her crimes. The Republican congressman, who has also been indicted, has not changed his not-guilty plea.... When the pair were first charged last year, Rep. Hunter seemed to blame his wife for the controversy. 'She was also the campaign manager, so whatever she did, that'll be looked at too, I'm sure,' he told Fox News. 'But I didn't do it. I didn't spend any money illegally.'"
Presidential Race 2020
Adam Edelman of NBC News: "The Democratic National Committee on Thursday named the 20 presidential candidates who qualified to appear on stage later this month in the first primary debate of the 2020 campaign.... The DNC, which is sanctioning the debate, set two ways for candidates to qualify -- fundraising and polling. To make the stage, candidates needed to have either at least 1 percent support in three qualifying polls, or provide evidence of at least 65,000 unique donors, with a minimum of 200 different donors in at least 20 states. [Declared candidates] Those who did not meet the threshold for the first debate include: Montana Gov. Steve Bullock; former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel; Miramar, Florida Mayor Wayne Messam; and Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts.... The two-night debate, hosted by NBC News, MSNBC and Telemundo, will take place on June 26 and 27...."
Mary Papenfuss of the Huffington Post: "Officials in El Paso complained last week that they were still waiting for ... Donald Trump';s reelection campaign to pay up for expenses related to providing extra police, fire department and other services for a rally months ago. Now it turns out there are nine more cities across the country that haven't received a dime from the campaign for similar charges, according to The Center for Public Integrity. Five of the 10 invoices date back to 2016, when Donald Trump was campaigning to become president. Ironically, Trump often gushes at rallies about police officers and other brave first responders, but his campaign is apparently stiffing police and firefighters across the nation.... When asked earlier this month about the El Paso bill by ABC News, a Trump campaign spokesman indicated that the city may have overcharged the campaign. Michael Glassner, Trump Campaign CEO, told ABC: 'We are reviewing' the bill." Thanks to PD Pepe for the link.
Jonathan Stempel of Reuters: "Michael Avenatti, the lawyer who represented porn star Stormy Daniels in lawsuits against ... Donald Trump, has been sued by a paraplegic former client who accused him of siphoning away a $4 million settlement he had won. Geoffrey Johnson is seeking at least $9.5 million, plus punitive damages, from Avenatti and several former colleagues in his civil lawsuit filed with the Orange County Superior Court in California.... Johnson's claims are also part of federal prosecutors' criminal case against Avenatti, who has pleaded not guilty to wire fraud, bank fraud, extortion and other charges, including defrauding other clients, in California and New York." Mrs. McC: Trump mocked a disabled person, Avenatti allegedly stole millions from another. Although there never seemed to be much of a likelihood he would win, remember that Avenatti had planned to run for president as a Democrat. Imagine if allegations of his misdeeds had not come out until after he won the nomination -- we'd have to vote for Trump because he seemed to be the better person.
Beyond the Beltway
Michigan. Ed White of the AP: "Prosecutors dropped all criminal charges Thursday against eight people in the Flint water crisis and pledged to start from scratch the investigation into one of the worst man-made environmental disasters in U.S. history. The stunning decision came more than three years -- and millions of dollars -- after authorities began examining the roots of the scandal that left Flint's water system tainted with lead. Michigan Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud, who took control of the investigation in January after the election of a new attorney general, said 'all available evidence was not pursued' by the previous team of prosecutors. Officials took possession this week of 'millions of documents and hundreds of new electronic devices, significantly expanding the scope of our investigation,' Hammoud and Wayne County prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a statement.... Hammoud's team recently used search warrants to get state-owned mobile devices of former Gov. Rick Snyder and 66 other people from storage."
New York. Bobby Allyn of NPR: "New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill Thursday ending vaccination exemptions based on religious beliefs, the latest attempt to address the growing measles outbreak, the worst the U.S. has experienced in decades. Cuomo said plugging the loophole should help contain the spike in measles cases in New York, the state the hardest hit by the uptick in the contagious virus due to low vaccination rates in ultra-Orthodox communities. 'The science is crystal clear: Vaccines are safe, effective and the best way to keep our children safe,' Cuomo said after signing the bill.... Th Democratic-controlled Legislature approved the measure, which also eliminates other nonmedical exemptions for schoolchildren across the state."
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