Trump Administration

John Bolton’s lawyer writes for the Wall Street Journal: When Mr. Bolton asked when he would receive the letter confirming the book was cleared, Ms. Knight  [the NSC’s senior director for prepublication review of materials written by NSC personnel] cryptically replied that her “interaction” with unnamed others in the White House about the book had “been very delicate” and that …

Politico reports: The Trump administration is preparing to open the door to oil and gas drilling off Florida’s coast — but will wait until after the November election to avoid blowback in a swing state whose waters both parties have long considered sacrosanct, according to four people familiar with the plan. Drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico would fulfill …

The Associated Press reports: A former federal judge appointed to review the Justice Department’s motion to dismiss criminal charges against former national security adviser Michael Flynn has found that the government’s request should be denied because there is “clear evidence of a gross abuse of prosecutorial power.” Former U.S. District Judge John Gleeson said in a filing Wednesday that the …

Mediaite reports: On Fox & Friends Wednesday, McEnany was asked about Trump picking up a conspiracy theory from far-right network OANN that the 75-year-old man was a provocateur who might have “set up” the extent of his injuries. “Could you expand on that?” Brian Kilmeade asked. “Does the president think that this guy is part of Antifa?” “The president was …

April Ryan writes for the Urban Radio Network: George Floyd was laid to rest today in his hometown of Houston, with the eulogy delivered by Rev. Al Sharpton. The White House is preparing a speech on race relations written by Stephen Miller, who crafted the Trump Administration’s immigration plan along the southern border with Mexico. Vice President Mike Pence recently …

Vanity Fair reports: According to a source close to the White House, Trump has mulled taking oversight of the campaign away from his son-in-law Jared Kushner. “Trump is malignantly crazy about the bad poll numbers,” a former West Wing official said. “He’s going to broom Kushner and [Brad] Parscale—the numbers are not getting better,” a Republican close to the campaign …

Politico reports: The Justice Department is pressing forward with its criminal case against a former business partner of Michael Flynn, despite Attorney General William Barr’s controversial decision to seek to abandon the prosecution of the former national security adviser to President Donald Trump. Prosecutors seeking to revive the convictions of Flynn’s former colleague, Bijan Rafiekian, filed a brief with a …

The Washington Post reports: John Bolton is forging ahead with plans to publish a scathing memoir about his time in President Trump’s White House and is in negotiations with network television channels to promote the book, according to people familiar with the talks. Bolton, who served as national security adviser from April 2018 to September 2019, plans to publish “The …

CNBC reports: “The president can use regular troops to suppress rioting,” Barr said on CBS, citing the Insurrection Act, which was last used during the 1992 Los Angeles riots over the acquittal of three police officers who violently beat Rodney King, black man who was unarmed. Asked if he thinks there is systemic racism in law enforcement, Barr said he …

From the three brothers known as MeidasTouch: MeidasTouch’s new video ‘Bye Ivanka’ has been launched with the hashtag #ByeIvanka. The video takes the commencement address given by Ivanka Trump today that no one asked her or invited her to give (which she gave in front of an empty room using White House resources after Wichita State canceled her speech because …

Politico reports: President Donald Trump and his allies for years have amplified racist messages on Twitter while simultaneously reaching out to black and Hispanic voters, a dissonant balancing act that’s now rocking the GOP amid nationwide racial-justice protests. The two competing forces collided Saturday on the Twitter feed of Trump campaign senior adviser Mercedes Schlapp, when she boosted a tweet …

The Guardian reports: Ivanka Trump has hit out at “cancel culture and viewpoint discrimination” after plans for her to give a virtual commencement speech to students in Kansas were canceled amid criticism of Donald Trump’s response to anti-police brutality protests in the wake of the killing of George Floyd. The move clearly angered Ivanka Trump, who is a top adviser …

The Washington Post reports: Attorney General William Barr says law enforcement officers were already moving to push back protesters from a park in front of the White House when he arrived there Monday evening, and he says he did not give a command to disperse the crowd, though he supported the decision. Earlier in the week, White House spokeswoman Kayleigh …

The Huffington Post reports: Even as they both attack the idea of voting by mail, President Donald Trump and his new press secretary may have voted by mail illegally, using residential addresses on their registrations that were not their residences. Kayleigh McEnany cast Florida ballots in 2018 using her parents’ address in Tampa, even though she lived in Washington, D.C., …

CNN reports: Former White House chief of staff John Kelly said Friday he agrees with former Secretary of Defense Gen. Jim Mattis’ stark warning this week that President Donald Trump is “the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people” as nationwide protests have intensified over the death of George Floyd. “I agree with …

Roll Call reports: Environmental advocates are warning that changes to the way the EPA calculates public health benefits of the rules it writes would make it harder to regulate air pollution, even as industry groups cheer the overhauls they have long sought. The EPA on Thursday evening proposed overhauls to its metrics for weighing the public health and environmental benefits …

Mediaite reports: “For Jim Mattis to have his head in the sand is, quite frankly, appalling,” White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said in an interview with Fox News’ Ed Henry. “This president is trying to unite a country. He has. He’s talked about the death of George Floyd and how sobering and sad he was when he saw the video, …

Chris Johnson reports at the Washington Blade: In the latest example of the Trump administration seeking to enable legal discrimination against LGBTQ people, the Justice Department is calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to allow religious-affiliated adoption agencies to refuse child placement into LGBTQ homes. In a 35-page brief, U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco and other Justice Department attorneys maintain …

The Independent reports: White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany today compared Trump to great world leaders like British Prime Minister Winston Churchill for St John’s Church photo. “The president wanted to send a very powerful message that we would not be overcome by looting, by rioting, this is not what defines America,” she said. “Like Churchill we saw him inspecting …

Buzzfeed News reports: The Drug Enforcement Administration has been granted sweeping new authority to “conduct covert surveillance” and collect intelligence on people participating in protests over the police killing of George Floyd, according to a two-page memorandum obtained by BuzzFeed News. Floyd’s death “has spawned widespread protests across the nation, which, in some instances, have included violence and looting,” the …