Twitter says it has put in place "safeguards" to prevent future accidental deactivation of accounts. The company said it is not able to share all details about our internal investigation or updates to our security measures, "but we take this seriously and our teams are on it."
Why it matters: Twitter acted quickly to figure out how President Trump's twitter account was inadvertently deactivated for 11 minutes on Thursday, which was later found to be done by a contractor on his last day of work. The company prides itself on being a reliable communications platform for its users, and Trump has become one its highest-profile power users. It's unsurprising the company opted not to detail its new safeguards, as that would make it easier for a malicious actor to skirt them.
President Trump addressed his administration's lack of nominees at critical posts in the State Department in an interview on Fox News' The Ingraham Angle last night, asserting that the vacancies don't matter given his place in the White House:
Let me tell you, the one that matters is me. I'm the only one that matters because when it comes to it that's what the policy is going to be.
Taxpayers will not be able to fill out a postcard-sized piece of paper to file their tax returns based on the House GOP tax plan, House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady said Friday in a discussion with Politico's Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman.
Why it matters: Republicans, including President Trump, had previously been claiming a majority of Americans would be able to file on just a postcard. Other highlights:
For several minutes on Thursday, the world was safe from President Trump's tweets. In what the social network company said was a move made by a customer service rep of their last day of work, Trump's personal Twitter account was deactivated for 11 minutes. The move prompted a lot of joking, but it's actually not a laughing matter. Some have argued that the president should be banned for violating the social network's terms of service, and certainly a case could be made for that.
Our thought bubble: But seeing the account temporarily deleted by a single rogue worker is actually quite troubling. This president uses it as a primary means of communication. Imagine if this had happened in the midst of a crisis, mid-tweet-storm.
En route to board Air Force One ahead of his 10-day Asia tour, President Trump doubled down on his morning tweets when talking to reporters.s. "A lot of people are disappointed in the Justice Department, including me," he said, for not opening an investigation into Hillary Clinton and the DNC.
Why it matters: Attorney General Jeff Sessions, already under fire for failing to disclose information relating to the Russia probe, is back on Trump's bad side for not being tougher on the Democrats, while still harboring frustration regarding Sessions' decision to recuse himself from the Russia investigation.
For decades, the region stretching from Australia to Asia has been referred to in Washington as as the "Asia-Pacific." "But as Trump prepares for a five-nation Asian tour, White House officials and even the president himself are steering clear of that term and using 'Indo-Pacific' instead," writes AP's AP's Matthew Pennington.
Why it matters: "By using 'Indo-Pacific,' the administration wants to propagate the idea that it's a region that stretches far beyond China's backyard and the tiger economies of East Asia."
Why it matters: The accounts, part of a torrent of revelations following the Harvey Weinstein scandal, raise "troubling questions about the boys' club environment in Congress where male lawmakers can feel empowered to target not only staffers but even their own peers ..."
While many Democrats wish it weren't so, Hillary Clinton just won't go away. First it was her regret-and-resentment tour. Then the book. And now a rolling wave of 2016 recriminations.
Be smart: As Democrats try to figure out 2020, it's bad enough that they keep re-litigating the Clinton-Trump general election. But top Dems think it's horrendous that the party is now re-litigating the Clinton-Sanders primary.
Twitter released a statement Thursday evening saying an employee had "inadvertently deactivated" President Trump's personal twitter account. The removal of Trump's account caused an immediate reaction among Twitter users, until the account reappeared minutes later.
"Earlier today @realdonaldtrump's account was inadvertently deactivated due to human error by a Twitter employee. The account was down for 11 minutes, and has since been restored. We are continuing to investigate and are taking steps to prevent this from happening again."
