The white-hot controversy over President Trump's relationship to Russia made a cameo at the massive CERAWeek energy industry conference in Houston. Russian energy minister Alexander Novak, in a briefing reporters, fielded a question about whether he's had any contact with representatives of the Trump campaign or Trump administration over the last year, and whether sanctions were discussed.
"We haven't had any contacts," he said. Novak declined to offer a direct answer when asked whether the political controversy in the U.S. will make it more difficult to get sanctions imposed by the U.S. under President Obama lifted, but suggested the sanctions are counterproductive. "We have a lot of unused potential in the area of synergy and cooperation in energy," he said.
Why it matters: The controversy over Russia's role in the 2016 election and the Trump administration's contacts with the Putin regime will follow Trump and the Russians around everywhere. The sanctions imposed by the Obama administration have thwarted some of Exxon's work in Russia, where former CEO and current secretary of State Rex Tillerson aggressively pursued major projects.
Some of the president's top foreign policy advisors got together for a tactical press briefing to promote the president's "rightful authority" to revamp the ban. Their big talking points, which they followed by not allowing questions:
Attorney General Jeff Sessions: "We cannot compromise our nation's security by allowing visitors entry when their own governments are unable or unwilling to provide the information we need to vet them responsibly."
Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly: "We do not make the law but are sworn to enforce it. We have no other option. We are going to work closely to implement and enforce it humanely, respectfully, and with professionalism, but we will enforce the law."
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson: "To our allies around the world: this order is part of our ongoing efforts to eliminate vulnerabilities that radical Islamic terrorists can and will exploit for destructive ends."
The Daily Beast got their hands on a Department of Homeland Security memo issued this past July warning government employees of approaches by foreign intelligence officials.
A caveat: Some of The Daily Beast's sources believed it to be "routine and somewhat obvious," while others saw it as a "serious indication" of Russian interference.
Its timing: A senior administration official said that Kislyak's presence at the RNC was "not unrelated" to the production of the memo. The memo was issued the day after then-Sen. Jeff Sessions met with Kislyak, although that meeting was not reported until last week.
Reaction from a Trump campaign staffer now working with the administration: "So yeah, we know him and he knows us, and you make small talk and you play that game. If you think that means I can't handle my shit and we're all Russian agents, go [f***] yourself."
The big takeaway from a current law enforcement official, "This is also known as one enormous Cover Your Ass…The bulletin is bullshit, but the threat isn't and people should know."
ABC's Good Morning America host George Stephanopoulos repeatedly had to interrupt White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders today to get a firm answer on whether President Trump accepts FBI Director James Comey's reported denials of wire taps targeting Trump Tower.
Her eventual answer: "You know, I don't think he does, George. I think he firmly believes that this is a storyline that has been reported pretty widely by quite a few outlets... and we believe that it should be looked at by the House Intelligence Committee."
Watching George Stephanopoulos make corn beef hash out of Sarah Huckabee Sanders is making me hungry for breakfast. pic.twitter.com/Vk1mlPKnxZ— Eric Wolfson (@EricWolfson) March 6, 2017
The big details: It's effective on March 16th, Iraq is no longer on the banned list, Syrian refugees "are treated the way all refugees are" and green card and visa holders are excluded from the ban.
I have learned that some — though definitely not all — members of President Trump's inner circle share his belief that the Obama administration tapped his Trump Tower phones in October. And a White House official told me President Trump not only doesn't regret this weekend's fracas despite the lack of evidence for his astonishing claim, he is "absolutely convinced" he'll be vindicated.
A new CNN/ORC poll shows a strong majority of Americans in favor of a special prosecutor on Russia, although President Trump's approval ratings actually increased a percentage point over the past month. Other findings:
In favor of a special prosecutor: 82% of Democrats, 43% of Republicans, and 67% of Independents.
"Very concerned" on Russia contacts: 71% of Democrats, 7% of Republicans.
President Trump's interest in a merit-based immigration system is widely seen as a win for the tech industry by putting more emphasis on higher-skilled workers — the very type of worker tech companies need to hire.
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.
