Moscow has called the indictment of 12 Russian military intelligence officers for hacking the 2016 U.S. elections "bogus" and an attempt to "spoil" the meeting scheduled between Presidents Trump and Putin Monday.
“It is regrettable that the duplication of false information in Washington has become the norm, and criminal cases are worked up for obvious political reasons. The question remains: how long will they continue to break this shameful comedy that disgraces the US?”
The latest Mueller indictment names the Russian intelligence agents behind the Guccifer 2.0 persona, the public face of the cyber break-in at the Democratic National Committee.
The big picture: Though the WikiLeaks email leaks got nearly all the attention, other press outlets — including The Hill, The Smoking Gun and Gawker — also received leaked documents from the hackers of the Democratic National Committee and Democratic Congressional Committee. Guccifer 2.0 was the persona used to leak those documents to the press — including me, then a reporter at The Hill.
President Trump's royal welcome was overshadowed today by his own Justice Department, as the Mueller investigation charged 12 Russians with hacking Democrats during the 2016 elections — and this comes just three days before Trump's meeting with Vladimir Putin.
The big picture: The Mueller investigation's charges today directly tie the Russian government to 2016 election hacking, charging 12 Russian intelligence officers with hacking U.S. Democratic candidates and organizations. The charges also include conspiracy and money laundering.
Former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick is visiting Texas this weekend to campaign for Democratic candidate Colin Allred, who is running for a seat in one of the most competitive congressional districts in the country, reports The Boston Globe.
Why it matters: Patrick, whose 2006 campaign for governor is often considered the model for Barack Obama's first presidential campaign, made a similar trip to Alabama earlier this year, where he stumped for eventual winner Doug Jones. Politico reported last month that Patrick will decide by the end of the year on whether he'll run for president in 2020, leading to speculation he's testing the waters for a bid of his own.
Top Democratic leaders are calling on President Trump to cancel his one-on-one meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on Monday following a federal grand jury's indictment of 12 Russian military officers for conspiring to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
What they're saying: The Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee Mark Warner, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Ranking Member of the House Intelligence Committee Rep. Adam Schiff, among several others, argue that the U.S. should pull out of the meeting until Russia agrees to offer evidence that it will stop interfering in American democracy.
President Trump and Melania Trump met Queen Elizabeth II for tea at Windsor Castle Friday. It's Trump's last stop in England before heading to Scotland for the weekend.
Meanwhile, about an hour away in London, tens of thousands of people have filled the streets to protest Trump's visit.
President Trump is making his first visit to the U.K. as president, meeting with Prime Minister Theresa May at her country estate and having tea with the Queen at Windsor Castle.
The flip side: Trump is extremely unpopular in the U.K., and his visit has whipped up tremendous controversy. He's largely avoiding London while in the U.K., but the mass demonstrations there have loomed over the visit.
The Cook Political Report shifted 10 House seats in Democrats' favor this week. There are now 60 competitive seats (54 held by Republicans) and 26 toss-up seats total.
Between the lines, from Cook's Dave Wasserman: Republicans would keep the House if both parties picked up an even amount of the toss-ups, but Democrats would take the House and net 28 seats if the competitive seats split evenly.
Prime Minister Theresa May, speaking during a joint press conference with President Donald Trump, said Friday that the United Kingdom and the United States will pursue an "ambitious" free trade deal following the U.K.'s exit from the European Union.
Why it matters: The announcement followed bilateral talks at May's country house in Chequers, where tensions were expected to run high after Trump told British tabloid The Sun that a trade deal would be off the table if the U.K. initiates a soft Brexit plan and keeps close ties to the EU.
LONDON — After roiling the NATO summit in Brussels, President Trump — always dicey as a guest — crossed the North Sea and is doing the same in England.
The bottom line: This could have been an isle of pomp and calm ahead of next week's summit with Vladimir Putin. Instead, it's the Brits' nightmare scenario.
The Department of Health and Human Services has turned housing and detaining immigrant children into an industry that sees nearly $1 billion annually, reports the Associated Press.
The big picture: HHS grants for shelters, foster cares and child welfare services for unaccompanied and separated children rose from a $74.5 million industry in 2007 to $958 million in 2017.
