President Donald Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, told the Huffington Post Sunday that the Constitution's broad power would prevent a president from being prosecuted, even in the extreme hypothetical case that President Trump shot former FBI director James Comey instead of firing him.
“In no case can he be subpoenaed or indicted. I don’t know how you can indict while he’s in office. No matter what it is ... If he shot James Comey, he’d be impeached the next day. Impeach him, and then you can do whatever you want to do to him.”
In mid May, senior House Republican officials huddled at the Hyatt on the Chesapeake Bay to discuss their messaging plan to save the House majority.
One of their guest speakers was the well-respected election forecaster Charlie Cook, who founded the non-partisan "Cook Political Report." According to sources in the room, Cook gave the Republican staffers a bleak view of the midterms. He said he was deeply skeptical that simply touting the economic wonders of tax reform would be enough to save the House.
President Donald Trump will host a dinner at the White House on Wednesday to recognize the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a White House official told Politico.
Why it matters: Last year the White House decided not to host the traditional post-sundown meal, known as iftar, to break the fast — a move that sparked backlash given the long-standing practice has been observed by Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Meanwhile, the event may be overshadowed by Trump's strained relationship with America's Muslim community over his inflammatory statements about Muslims and the travel ban.
The Tea Party movement, which swept Washington and the House majority in 2010 amid anger over a political system they claimed was disconnected from American values, is slowly dwindling, the AP's Lisa Mascaro writes.
Why it matters: "Now, with [Republican] control of the House again at stake this fall and just three dozen of them seeking re-election, the tea party revolts shows the limits of riding a campaign wave into the reality of governing," says Mascaro.
Bruce Mehlman of Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas points out that based on Gallup data, President Trump commands the second highest “own party” approval rating of any president at the 500 day mark since World War II, behind only President George W. Bush, after 9/11.
Donald Trump has been President Trump for 500 days as of noon today, and everything has changed, and nothing has changed.
Be smart: In 500 days, Trump’s hijacking of the formerly conservative GOP is complete — an astonishing accomplishment. The majority party in America is fully defined by his policies, his popularity with the base, his facts-be-damned mentality, his ability to control and quiet virtually all Republican elected officials.
There are still around 800,000 DACA recipients in limbo, and Trump's signature promise of "the wall" remains unfulfilled. Next week, Congress will be back from recess to duke it out.
Where things stand: Court injunctions have allowed DACA recipients to continue renewing their legal status, and by the end of this month the Trump administration could be forced to begin accepting new applications as well. But these court decisions are not a permanent solution. After the Senate failed to find a legislative fix, the House is now taking a whack at it.
President Trump's legal team is making a bold new claim in a letter to Robert Mueller that says he can't obstruct the Russia investigation because his presidential authority is so broad that it makes obstruction impossible, the New York Times reports.
Why it matters: That claim would push the boundaries of executive power and probably set up a legal fight over whether he can be ordered to answer questions. The letter from the president's legal team claims that the Constitution gives Trump the power to, “if he wished, terminate the inquiry, or even exercise his power to pardon.”
Barack Obama is scheduled to headline a DCCC fundraiser along with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Anna Eshoo in the Bay Area late June, reports Politico.
Why it matters: The former president has largely stayed out of the political spotlight since leaving office, but is coming back as we get closer to the midterms and Democrats fight to take back the House. Expect Democrats to use Obama and Hillary Clinton to fire up their base before November.
Eric Holder, Obama’s former Attorney General, told an audience at a political event in New Hampshire Friday that even if Trump is using his pardon power to send a signal to potential witnesses in the Mueller probe, people who are pardoned can still go before a grand jury.
Bottom line: Holder said Trump issuing pardons "will not ultimately thwart the Mueller investigation." That’s because "if Bob Mueller, for instance wants to take a pardoned person, put that person before a grand jury, that person no longer has the ability to say, 'I'm going to invoke my Fifth Amendment right'" and "that person then becomes a perfect witness for the special counsel."
CVS Health said Friday it will stop donating to the pro-Trump group, America First Policies (AFP,) after a nonpartisan research group, MapLight, revealed Thursday that the pharmacy had donated to it, per CNN.
The big picture: It’s not just CVS Health — MapLight said two other companies, Southern Company and Dow Chemical, along with CVS Health, donated a combined $1.6 million to AFP. Southern Company and Dow Chemical did not immediately respond to CNN’s requests for comment.
