Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) and his wife have been indicted on charges of using $250,000 in campaign money for personal expenses and for falsifying campaign finance records.
The big picture: The Department of Justice had been investigating Hunter for more than a year, after hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenditures ranging from an Italian vacation to dental work to bar tabs were discovered on his campaign credit card. Hunter served as co-chair of the Trump campaign’s U.S. House Leadership Committee with Rep. Chris Collins, who was arrested on charges of securities fraud earlier this month.
Authorities in Iowa have filed charges against an undocumented immigrant on Tuesday in connection to a recovered body believed to be that of 20-year-old University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts, who disappeared from her home a month ago.
The details: The suspect, identified as Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, is facing a first degree murder charge and life without parole, Rick Rahn, special agent at the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, explained in a briefing Tuesday. He's believed to have been living in Poweshiek County area for four to seven years.
President Trump, after landing in West Virginia to speak at a rally this evening, responded to the news of Paul Manafort's conviction on 8 counts of tax and bank fraud.He did not respond to Michael Cohen's guilty plea.
"I feel badly... Paul Manafort is a good man... It's a very sad thing that happened. This has nothing to do with Russian collusion... It's a witch hunt and it's a disgrace... I feel very badly for Paul Manafort... It had nothing to do with Russian collusion, we continue the witch hunt."
— President Trump to reporters
Between the lines: Manafort was found guilty by a jury, while Cohen turned himself in to the authorities.
President Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty Tuesday to eight counts related to tax fraud, making false statements to a financial institution, excessive campaign contributions, and unlawful corporate contributions in a U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
During his guilty plea, Cohen said he was directed to violate campaign law at the direction of an unnamed candidate. He added that the same candidate directed him to pay $130,000 in hush money, which the candidate later reimbursed. Cohen told the court that he knew what he was doing was illegal.
Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort was found guilty on 8 criminal counts Tuesday, including bank fraud, tax fraud and hiding a foreign bank account. Judge T.S. Ellis declared a mistrial on the other 10 charges.
The big picture: While this is the first case brought to court as a result of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into potential Russian interference in the 2016 election, the federal tax and bank fraud charges are not related to Manafort's work with the Trump campaign — they're instead focused on his activities as a lobbyist for Ukraine.
President Trump will campaign in Nevada, Kentucky, and Tennessee next month to support Republican candidates ahead of the 2018 midterm elections in November, according to a person familiar with his thinking — they did not specify which candidates.
Why it matters: Trump believes that no one is better at exciting Republican voters than him, and he's doing everything he can to persuade his 2016 base to vote for his preferred nominees in 2018.
President Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen has reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors in New York, per ABC News.
The big picture: Cohen's plea deal doesn't include a plan to cooperate with federal prosecutors, according to The New York Times, though he seemed to signal during an interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos last month that he'd consider such a strategy.
This fiscal year, only 48 Iraqis who helped American troops overseas have been granted refugee status — down from more than 3,000 last year and around 5,100 the year before, Reuters' Yeganeh Torbati reports.
Why it matters: This refugee program was specifically designed to encourage locals in Iraq to provide aide and intelligence to the U.S. military or media, and many have risked their lives to do so. Pentagon officials told Reuters they fear cutting the number of approved refugees would lead to a national security risk as locals would have less of an incentive.
President Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, is in talks with federal prosecutors to potentially negotiate a plea deal related to charges of "tax fraud and banking-related matters," reports NBC News.
Why it matters: The New York Times reported Sunday that Cohen is under investigation for more than $20 million in bank and tax fraud connected to his family taxi business. He is also being investigated for possible campaign finance violations for paying off women who claimed to have had extramarital affairs with Trump.
There are at least four Republican candidates who have been chastised by members of their own party for speaking out against President Trump following the release of the "Access Hollywood" tape in 2016, Greg Sargent writes for the Washington Post.
Why it matters: This is another clear sign that the Republican Party has shifted in Trump's favor. If this is what's happening now, imagine what the Republican Party could look like in five years.
"Texting is quietly changing American political campaigns while regulators, politicians, and the voters are scrambling to catch up," Vice News' Alex Thompson reports.
Why it matters: "Largely free of government regulation,texts could be the next pipeline for unaccountable money to flow into American politics, much like social media advertising in 2016."
President Trump denied on Tuesday a New Yorker report about his consideration of blocking former President Barack Obama from intelligence briefings.
The big picture: The New Yorker's Adam Entous reported that the "extraordinary step" of booting Obama from intelligence briefings had been suggested to Trump, but that he hadn't taken it.
It's 2018, and 22 states have never sent an African American to Congress.
Why it matters: The country is constantly changing and becoming more diverse. Electing more people of color could quell many Americans' feelings that politics is broken and there's little trust in public institutions. At the very least, it would increase the likelihood that policies better reflect communities of color around the country.
Maine voters are less likely to support Republican Sen. Susan Collins for re-election if she votes to confirm President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, according to a new Public Policy Polling survey.
Why it matters: Collins is considered a crucial Republican swing vote for confirming Kavanaugh. She has parted ways with the GOP in the past (voting against EPA Adminstrator Scott Pruitt and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, as well as the Republican health care bill), and she's expressed concern with Kavanaugh's position on reproductive rights.
No matter what else happens in the November elections, the next Congress is virtually guaranteed to have a slate of House members who will make history because of who they are — and add diversity to a Congress that isn't exactly known for it.
Why it matters: Many of these candidates, having won their nominations in safe districts, have a clear path to election — and their victories would help Congress look (a bit) more like America.
Michael Avenatti, attorney for Stormy Daniels and outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, told Variety that he was "surprised" he received an invite to Monday night’s MTV Video Music Awards, which drew some of the biggest names in Hollywood including Cardi B, Madonna and Jennifer Lopez.
During his interview on the "pink carpet," Avenatti said that he's "serious" about running for president in 2020: "I’m serious about it. I’m seriously looking at it… I'm traveling around talking to people in the country, and you know, I’ve been really surprised at how much enthusiasm there is out there for the potential... I think I have a real shot if I decide to do it."
The bottom line: The Aquarius, the only rescue ship now patrolling the waters off Libya, will keep returning to a continent that's still in search of a burden-sharing solution on migration. It’s both a moral dilemma and a serious political problem.
