Politics

The Hill reports: President Trump’s reelection campaign announced that it ended 2017 with $22.1 million in the bank, touting the “grassroots support” that boosted fundraising in his first year in office. Trump’s campaign said it raised $6.9 million in the fourth fundraising quarter of 2017, which includes fundraising from October to the end of December. Of that total, about $2.1 …

CNN reports: Emails obtained by CNN show the FBI agent at the center of a Capitol Hill storm played a key role in a controversial FBI decision that upended Hillary Clinton’s campaign just days before the 2016 election: the letter to Congress by then-FBI Director James Comey announcing the bureau was investigating newly discovered Clinton emails. The new revelation about …

Philadelphia’s ABC affiliate reports: Rep. Bob Brady of Philadelphia, a plainspoken former carpenter and cheerleader for the city, will not seek another term in Congress, giving up the seat he’s held for two decades, his office said Wednesday.Brady revealed the news to reporters and Democratic Party ward leaders in Philadelphia, his hometown and the city where he has been the …

Variety reports: Viewership of President Donald Trump’s first State of the Union address is down slightly in the Nielsen ratings compared to his first televised address to Congress last February as well as President Barack Obama’s first such address. On broadcast, Tuesday’s coverage of the speech drew 7.1 million viewers on NBC, 7 million on CBS, 5.4 million on ABC, …

NJ.com reports: In a shocking turnaround, the U.S. Justice Department has dropped its case against Sen. Robert Menendez. In a court hearing in Newark today, federal prosecutors moved to dismiss the corruption indictment against the New Jersey Democrat. Last week, a federal judge had acquitted Menendez and his co-defendant, Salomon Melgen, of seven of the 18 counts against them after …

It’s a stampede for the exits. The Hill reports: Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), chairman of the House Oversight Committee, announced Wednesday that he will not run for reelection. “There is a time to come and a time to go. This is the right time, for me, to leave politics and return to the justice system,” he said in a statement …

Bloomberg reports: FBI Director Christopher Wray told the White House he opposes release of a classified Republican memo alleging bias at the FBI and Justice Department because it contains inaccurate information and paints a false narrative, according to a person familiar with the matter. The memo on actions early in the probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign is …

Fallout from the Fitbit story: Secretary of Defense James Mattis is actively considering banning US military and civilian personnel from bringing their personal cell phones into the Pentagon, the world’s largest office building, according to three US defense officials familiar with an ongoing review of the issue. The officials told CNN that while the issue is under review and a …

The Hill reports: Late-night host Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday channeled his impersonation of President Trump in a skit showing preparations for the State of the Union. In the sketch for NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” the late-night host speaks to individuals impersonating White House counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway and former President Barack Obama. “I can’t believe …

CNBC is reporting that CDC head Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald resigned this morning. Yesterday multiple outlets reported that she purchased stock in a global Big Tobacco company after Trump appointed her to the post. After assuming the CDC leadership July 7, Fitzgerald bought tens of thousands of dollars in new stock holdings in at least a dozen companies later that month as …

From the editorial board of the Washington Post: Have a president’s words ever rung more hollow? In his first State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Trump spoke of “what kind of nation we are going to be. All of us, together, as one team, one people and one American family.” Yet Mr. Trump could not avoid, even for …

Raw Story reports: Wednesday interview with Sarah Huckabee Sanders prompted women to take to Twitter and call out the White House press secretary for embracing the sexist trope that women should smile more. During the interview with Chris Cuomo, Sanders called out Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and said that she should “smile more.” The demand is often referenced by women …

CNN reports: Almost half of Americans who watched President Donald Trump’s first State of the Union address — 48% — say they had a “very positive” impression of the speech, down from 57% of speech-watchers after his first address to match Barack Obama’s rating after his first State of the Union address, according to a new CNN poll conducted by …

CNN reports: President Donald Trump’s first State of the Union address proved too much for non-partisan fact-checking site PolitiFact Tuesday night. The website saw its servers crash for six minutes during the President’s speech. “Welp … our website just crashed. Thanks for reading ?!!? We’ll keep things up here on Twitter while we see what happened,” the website tweeted, citing …

CBS News reports: Porn star Stormy Daniels, who allegedly had sexual encounter with President Trump in 2006, appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” Tuesday night but did not answer any questions about the alleged affair. While a statement was released from Daniels earlier Tuesday denying any affair, she appeared to hint on Kimmel’s show that she did not sign it. Kimmel …

CNN reports: In his response to the State of the Union address, Rep. Joe Kennedy is set to indirectly refer to President Donald Trump as a “bully,” according to excerpts provided ahead of his speech. “Bullies may land a punch. They might leave a mark,” the Massachusetts Democrat will say, according to excerpts released by his office. “But they have …

Politico reports: The Trump administration’s top public health official bought shares in a tobacco company one month into her leadership of the agency charged with reducing tobacco use — the leading cause of preventable disease and death and an issue she had long championed. The stock was one of about a dozen new investments that Brenda Fitzgerald, director of the …

The Associated Press reports: Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour says he will pay a fine after being arrested with a loaded handgun in his briefcase as he went through an airport security checkpoint. Barbour — Republican National Committee chairman in the mid-1990s and governor from 2004-12 — tells The Associated Press on Wednesday he was trying to board a flight …

CBS Denver reports: Former Congressman Tom Tancredo, who put his name in the ring for governor of Colorado last fall, has withdrawn his candidacy. The Republican confirmed the move on Tuesday afternoon. Tancredo said although he feels competent to win Republican primary, he sees no path to victory in the gubernatorial general election for a Republican and doesn’t want to …

Golf.com reports: LPGA legend Suzann Pettersen is fond of the sitting U.S. president. But she’s not so sure about his handicap. In an interview with Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang, Pettersen detailed the many sides to her relationship with President Trump, whom she has known on and off the golf course for over a decade. “He cheats like hell,” the 15-time …