Trump Administration

Salon reports: “Look, Bob Mueller is a member of his own team,” Fox News legal analyst Andrew Napolitano said. “I think the attorney general was splitting hairs there. He has a problem in my view. I don’t think he told a lie. But I think he probably misled the House of Representatives.” Speaking with host Neil Cavuto on the Fox …

The Hill reports: “I think his statement is deliberately false and misleading, and yes, most people would consider that to be a lie,” Schiff said on CBS This Morning. “Look, there’s no sugar coating this, I think he should step down. It’s hard, I think, for the country to have confidence in the top law enforcement official in the country …

Courthouse News reports: The government said Tuesday it has no plans to turn over the full report produced by special counsel Robert Mueller to longtime Trump associate Roger Stone. Stone had asked for the unredacted report earlier this month, saying he needs it for his defense. During a short status conference this morning in Washington, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Kravis …

Axios reports: Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó posted a video to Twitter on Tuesday calling for a military uprising while surrounded by soldiers and a detained activist, per the AP. Guaidó’s stance against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has so far been relatively peaceful, but Tuesday’s video marks a significant escalation in his strategy — which the Trump administration “fully supports,” …

Axios reports: Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has formally submitted his resignation to President Trump, effective May 11. Rosenstein was expected to leave the Justice Department after seeing the Mueller investigation through to its conclusion. His successor Jeffrey Rosen has already been nominated by President Trump and is awaiting confirmation in the Senate. After writing the letter that Trump used …

Randy Rainbow is back today with a positively delicious evisceration of lying Trump World figures in the wake of the Mueller report. Today’s parody is set the tune of “Belle” from Disney’s 1991 classic, Beauty And The Beast, which was written by eight-time Oscar winner Alan Menken. As always, I won’t give away the jokes. This a must-watch.

CNN reports: A Democratic lawmaker on Thursday ratcheted up warnings to the Trump administration amid a growing standoff over subpoenas and oversight requests the White House says it will resist. Rep. Gerry Connolly threatened jail time for White House officials who are declining to comply with congressional committees’ efforts to conduct oversight of President Donald Trump’s administration. It’s the latest …

Axios reports: Attorney General Bill Barr will appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 1 and House Judiciary Committee on May 2 to testify about special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, both panels have confirmed. Democrats have accused Barr, the nation’s top law enforcement official, of playing defense for President Trump by spinning …

ABC News reports: The Defense Department’s internal watchdog has cleared acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan of favoring his former employer, Boeing while serving at the Pentagon. The Pentagon’s inspector general found that reports of ethics violations were not substantiated, clearing the way for Shanahan for a possible nomination to the top Pentagon job. The inspector general opened the investigation last …

The New York Times reports: In the months before Kirstjen Nielsen was forced to resign, she tried to focus the White House on one of her highest priorities as Homeland Security secretary: preparing for new and different Russian forms of interference in the 2020 election.  President Trump’s chief of staff told her not to bring it up in front of …

“Jared Kushner’s diminishment of Russian interference is both disingenuous and deceptive. The attack on our democracy involved much more than the purchase of a few Facebook ads. From the Mueller report we now know, Russians made contact with multiple members of the Trump campaign, including Jared Kushner, attempting to change American policies and promote Russian objectives. “They invaded our nation, …

USA Today reports: The Trump administration has moved to defend the male-only military draft, appealing a federal court ruling that Selective Service registration is unconstitutional because it discriminates based on sex. The appeal on Monday comes as the plaintiffs in the case step up their legal efforts to force the government to either force women to register for the draft …

The Hill reports: The Trump administration appears ready to roll back health care protections for transgender people, and advocates are gearing up for a fight. A proposed rule from the Department of Health and Human Services that’s expected in the coming days would make it easier for doctors, hospitals and insurance companies to deny care or coverage to transgender patients, …

CBS News reports: As people around the country mark 4/20 — the unofficial holiday celebrating marijuana — U.S. officials have released new guidance around marijuana for immigrants hoping to earn U.S. citizenship. Officials said Friday that immigrants involved with cannabis in any way — even in states where it has been legalized — could disqualify them from naturalization. New guidance …

The Indianapolis Star reports: Scott Pruitt, the embattled former administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, registered Thursday as a lobbyist with state regulators. Pruitt’s filings with the Indiana Lobby Registration Commission identify him as a self-employed consultant and list RailPoint Solutions LLC as his sole client. His lobbying topics include “energy” and “natural resources.” It’s unclear what, exactly, Pruitt …

Law & Crime reports: Fox News anchor Chris Wallace said Attorney General William Barr sounded like a counselor to the president during his press conference Thursday ahead of the release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report. “The Attorney General seemed almost to be acting as the counselor for the defense, the counselor for the president, rather than the attorney general, …

CNBC reports: Herman Cain will not drop out of consideration for the Federal Reserve Board even though he does not appear to have enough votes to get confirmed in the Senate, he told The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday. The former Godfather’s Pizza CEO and Kansas City Fed Board president said he is “very committed” to the process, according to …

Talking Points Memo reports: Attorney General Bill Barr is scheduled to hold a press conference at 9:30 a.m. ET Thursday to discuss special counsel Robert Mueller’s redacted final report, the Justice Department confirmed Wednesday. “Attorney General William P. Barr will hold a press conference on Thursday, April 18, 2019 at 9:30 a.m. EDT, on the release of the Mueller Report,” …

Splinter News reports: The Trump administration-Fox News ouroboros rolls on unimpeded this week, with a report that Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin plans to hire former Fox personality Monica Crowley as his new spokeswoman. Citing “people familiar with the matter,” Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that Mnuchin is preparing to hire Crowley as a replacement for outgoing spokesman Tony Sayegh, who had …

CNN reports: A Maryland state’s attorney’s office confirmed Monday it had dropped charges against a woman accused of assaulting White House aide Kellyanne Conway.  CNN first reported on the incident earlier this year, when Conway told CNN’s Dana Bash that a woman grabbed and shook her while she was out with her teenage daughter at a Maryland restaurant last fall. …