FBI Director James Comey reportedly asked the Department of Justice to issue a statement Saturday rejecting President Trump's claims that former President Obama and his administration wiretapped Trump's phones. The New York Times first reported the story, and was seconded by NBC News.
What we don't know: Who would issue such a statement, even if the DOJ wanted to release one. (The White House and DOJ declined to comment to the NYT). Attorney General Jeff Sessions — a close Trump ally — has recused himself from any Trump-Russia investigation, and there's a hearing Tuesday for the nominee for the deputy job.
Why this matters: As the Times points out, if the DOJ or FBI issued a public statement refuting Trump's claims, they would be positioning themselves — the nation's top law enforcement — against the nation's top political leadership.
Vice President Pence, wearing a black bow tie: "[T]he end of the week was a little embarrassingfor me. Not that I had a personal email account when I was Governor, [but] to have millions of Americans learn that I'm one of the few people in this country who still has an AOL account. I guess it was good for my image, though. Now America knows I'm not stuck in the 1950s — just the 1990s."
Six weeks ( 44 days) into his presidency, Donald Trump, when left alone because Jared and Ivanka are observing the Sabbath, still bangs out tweets (with episodic misspellings) making wild accusations based on flimsy or nonexistent evidence. And not a single word you just read is disputable. Let that sink in.
Here's this morning's statement from White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer (which he also posted on Twitter):
Reports concerning potentially politically motivated investigations immediately ahead of the 2016 election are very troubling.President Donald J. Trump is requesting that as part of their investigation into Russian activity, the congressional intelligence committees exercise their oversight authority to determine whether executive branch investigative powers were abused in 2016. Neither the White House nor the President will comment further until such oversight is conducted.
Between the lines: Reports that Trump's White House attorney was poking around for details on Trump's allegations about Obama-directed wiretapping during the election led to concerns of interference in a possible investigation. Now this all moves to Congress and the White House says it won't be talking about it any more.
The U.S. says it's temporarily suspending a program that lets H1-B visa applicants get a quick response on their application. The program grants 85,000 visas for highly-skilled foreigners to work in the U.S—for $1,225 applicants could get a response within 15 days. The U.S. says the suspension is to help clear a backlog of petitions.
Why this matters: Expedited processing is used by "close to 100 percent" of large tech companies, an attorney told the Financial Times. Tech companies also spoke out against Trump's travel ban and are concerned about promised changes to visa programs.
President Trump might have won over the working class of America, but he is certainly not one of them... and neither are his children or grandchildren. While Hillary Clinton's inability to relate with average Americans hurt her during the campaign, Trump's gold-laden, glitzy lifestyle only added to the persona of a successful businessman. That's what Republicans got behind and who many supporters voted for — someone who could bring his personal success to the national level. But here are some of the ways the Trump family aren't like the majority of Americans.
Once upon a time, Saturdays were devoid of news beyond the boring presidential radio address. Now, they are wild affairs, featuring Trump Twitter tantrums. All of these were (really) sent on Saturdays since Trump took office:
The NYT has a wrap on the Trump White House's scramble to respond to the president accusing former President Obama — over Twitter, nonetheless, of wiretapping him during the campaign. Paragraphs 9 and 10 are rather interesting:
But a senior White House official said that Donald F. McGahn II, the president's chief counsel, was working on Saturday to secure access to what Mr. McGahn believed was an order issued by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court authorizing some form of surveillance related to Mr. Trump and his associates.
The official offered no evidence to support the notion that such an order exists. If one does, it would be highly unusual for a White House to order the Justice Department to turn over such an investigative document, given the traditional independence of law enforcement matters.
Why it matters: Pay attention to how the Obama folks worded their denial of ordering a tap on Trump. They explicitly said presidents can't order — and don't have access to — such actions during active investigations. If there is such an active investigation, the White House would be entering unusual territory seeking access to it.
"TRUMP CLAIMS OBAMA TAPPED HIS PHONES IN 'NIXON/WATERGATE' OPERATION." Broadcast networks cut in, Congress stops everything to investigate, the wheels of government grind to a halt. AP might alert: "President Trump today, inspired by the musings of a right-wing radio host, ... "
Cue this morning: It's just Trump being Trump, waking up on a Saturday morning at Mar-a-lago with a slow schedule, and key advisers back in D.C. And to 40% of America, it's plausibly true.
From Obama spokesman Kevin Lewis, a public denial that Obama the president ordered wire taps on Trump.
"A cardinal rule of the Obama administration was that no White House official ever interfered with any independent investigation led by the Department of Justice. As part of that practice, neither President Obama nor any White House official ever ordered surveillance on any U.S. citizen. Any suggestion otherwise is simply false."
Why it matters: Note that the statement doesn't deny Trump was tapped, but rather says the Obama White House played no role in ordering or directing any taps. The full Trump Twitter saga here.
President Obama reportedly ordered the Pentagon three years ago to enhance their cyber strikes to thwart North Korean missiles in their first few seconds of launch, according to the New York Times. Although initial efforts may have been successful (some of the DPRK's rockets exploded, veered off course, or fell apart in midair), North Korea has launched three medium-range rockets over the past eight months.
Why this matters: Obama told Trump before he was sworn in that North Korean nuclear and missile programs would be the most urgent threats he would confront over the course of his presidency. North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un, says his country is in "the final stage in preparations" for intercontinental ballistic missiles, but the U.S. still does not have the capabilities to counter North Korean nuclear and missile programs, per the NYT. Trump himself said "we're so obsolete in cyber" during his campaign.
What's next: Trump could ramp up the Pentagon's cyber strikes against North Korea, he could negotiate with the DPRK to halt its nuclear and missile programs, or he could prepare the U.S. for directing missile strikes to the launch sites. These options were all discussed in the Situation Room as recently as Tuesday.
President Trump's six Saturday morning tweets might look a little confusing. Here they are, in order:
The first meeting Jeff Sessions had with the Russian Amb was set up by the Obama Administration under education program for 100 Ambs...... Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my "wires tapped" in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism! Just out: The same Russian Ambassador that met Jeff Sessions visited the Obama White House 22 times, and 4 times last year alone. Is it legal for a sitting President to be "wire tapping" a race for president prior to an election? Turned down by court earlier. A NEW LOW! I'd bet a good lawyer could make a great case out of the fact that President Obama was tapping my phones in October, just prior to Election! How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!
Donald Trump has raised suspicion about his relationship with Russia by complimenting Vladimir Putin, proposing that the U.S. work with Russia to defeat ISIS and even calling on Russia to hunt down Hillary Clinton's emails. Those suspicions haven't gone away with his election.
Below is a full timeline of the interactions with Russia that have caused so much trouble for Trump:
