Idiocracy

ABC News reports that former Trump campaign advisor George Papadopolous has pleaded guilty to making false statements to FBI agents in a plea agreement made public this morning. Papadopolous first worked as an advisor to Ben Carson’s campaign and joined the Trump team in May 2016. He reportedly made at least six attempts to have Trump meet with Kremlin officials …

The Hill reports: President Trump on Monday is scheduled to have lunch with Attorney General Jeff Sessions, just hours after Trump’s former campaign chairman was indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller. Sessions was invited to join Trump’s weekly lunch with Vice President Pence, which is closed to press coverage. It’s likely Trump will raise the indictment of former Trump campaign …

The Wrap reports: Longtime Trump associate Roger Stone Jr. said he will sue Twitter in response to the company banning him from the platform. “I have retained one of the best telecommunications lawyers in the country and will be bringing a legal action against Twitter over the suspension of my account,” he told TheWrap. “The battle for free speech has …

The Hill reports: President Trump early Monday cited a report claiming the Obama campaign paid the law firm that routed money to the research firm behind the controversial and unverified dossier that alleges connections between Trump and the Kremlin. The president is referencing a report from the conservative website The Federalist that says Obama’s campaign paid $972,000 to the law …

Mediaite reports: First-son Donald Trump Jr. went on a so-called “peasant hunt” with highly controversial alt-right politician Rep. Steve King of Iowa. While it seems the two actually went pheasant hunting and did not in-fact hunt down plebeians, the GOP congressman did accidentally tweet a photo of the two posing with firearms captioned: “Steve King’s annual Bud Day Peasant Hunt. …

The Hill reports: President Trump traveled to his Virginia golf club on Saturday for the fourth consecutive weekend. Trump left the White House shortly after 10 a.m. Saturday wearing a white hat, a dark jacket, a white shirt and golf shoes, according to pool reports. Trump’s motorcade arrived at Trump National Golf Club in Virginia shortly after 10:50 a.m. One …

“Let me be very very clear, I am certain of this, this has nothing to do with the president. If there were players on the outside that had a periphery or a small role of some type in the campaign, my guess is these charges have nothing to do with the campaign because I was there, there was no collusion, …

The Financial Times reports: Donald Trump took to social media on Friday evening to tease next week’s grand reveal of his nominee to chair the Federal Reserve. In a video on Instagram, Mr Trump said the nominee “will be a person who hopefully will do a fantastic job.” “I have somebody very specific in mind,” he continued. “I think everybody …

Children of the White House press corp trick-or-treated around the West Wing this afternoon, finishing in the Oval Office where Trump couldn’t resist taking shots at the press, asking the kids with a grimace, “Are you going to grow up to be like your parents? Uhhh. Don’t answer that.” As the cameras rolled, Trump also said, “I cannot believe the …

Daniel Dale reports at the Toronto Star: The news out of Washington last week was dominated by the fallout from President Donald Trump’s lies about his interactions with the families of fallen soldiers. There were other Trump whoppers that didn’t get discussed. Oh, were there other whoppers. The president uttered 57 — 57! — false claims from Monday through Sunday. …

CBS News reports: White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders will address the press today during an on-camera briefing scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. ET. After her announcements, Sanders is expected to take questions from the press. Likely topics are below. JFK assassination documents released: At the last minute, President Trump decided to grant the requests from various intelligence …

Politico reports: President Donald Trump blasted Tom Steyer on Friday, calling the Democratic megadonor “wacky” and “totally unhinged.” Steyer, a California billionaire activist, is launching a $10 million national ad campaign calling for the president’s impeachment. The 60-second TV spot began running last week, according to Forbes. The ad played Friday morning on “Fox & Friends,” likely catching the president’s …

Talking Points Memo reports: White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Thursday that she believed special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and other matters was “getting closer to conclusion.” She did not cite any new evidence to back up the claim, instead referring to vague “reporting” on “more details about why the President …

The Hill reports: President Trump on Thursday again weighed into the Virginia governor’s race, arguing Republican nominee Ed Gillespie “will be a great governor” and slamming Gillespie’s Democratic opponent. Trump has previously tweeted support for Gillespie, who is running against Lt. Gov. Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam (D) in the Nov. 7 election. Northam quickly fired back, pointing to service in …

Bloomberg reports: The administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency said an increase in his security detail is the result of an escalation in threats to him and his family. While environmental groups have pilloried the potential $1.9 million annual cost of round-the-clock security that comes as the agency moves to cut staff, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said security officials deemed …

Yesterday GOP House Rep. Paul Gosar fled a CNN interview with cries of “fake news” after being confronted for promoting far-right claims that George Soros plotted the Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Raw Story reports: After declining CNN’s invitations for interviews, the network decided to track him down in the House of Representatives — and were met with responses similar …

Business Insider reports: President Donald Trump’s approval rating sank to a new low in a Fox News poll, with only 38% of respondents telling pollsters they approved of Trump’s job performance. The poll, released Wednesday, comes after a turbulent month marked by a series of destructive hurricanes, the resulting crisis in Puerto Rico, and Trump’s ongoing controversy with several Gold …

The Washington Post reports: In recent years, the private prison company GEO Group has held its annual leadership conference at venues near its Boca Raton headquarters. But this year, the company moved its gathering to a Miami-area golf resort owned by President Trump. The event last week, during which executives and wardens gathered for four days of meetings, dinner receptions …

The Hill reports: President Trump on Wednesday cited his Ivy League education in pushing back at the notion that he is an uncivil leader. “You know people don’t understand, I went to an Ivy League college,” he told reporters at the White House. “I was a nice student. I did very well. I’m a very intelligent person.” Trump blamed the …

Lack of self-awareness is a Trump hallmark. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports: Brought in for the UNT Kuehne Speaker Series, Donald Trump Jr. spent a significant portion of his 30-minute speech admonishing American universities, with a notable exception of those in Texas. The oldest son of President Donald Trump said Tuesday that universities across the country, and specifically the University …