Jun 6, 2017

Report: Comey won't accuse Trump of obstructing justice

Carolyn Kaster / AP

ABC News' Justin Fishel and Jonathan Karl report that James Comey will not accuse President Trump of obstructing justice in his testimony Thursday before the Senate Intelligence Committee, citing "a source familiar with Comey's thinking."

The context: Trump allegedly asked Comey in February to stop investigating Michael Flynn, raising questions over potential obstruction of justice.
What he will say: Per ABC News, the former FBI director "will dispute the president's contention that Comey told him three times he is not under investigation."
What he won't say, per the ABC source: "He is not going to Congress to make accusations about the President's intent, instead he's there to share his concerns."
What to watch: Trump plans to give a speech in the middle of Comey's testimony, and may even live tweet in reaction to Comey's claims.

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Ghislaine Maxwell pleads not guilty in Jeffrey Epstein sex abuse case

Maxwell. Photo: Jared Siskin/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

Ghislaine Maxwell pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges brought earlier this month alleging that she conspired with billionaire Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse underage girls. A federal judge scheduled Maxwell's trial to begin July 12, 2021.

The big picture: Prosecutors from the Southern District of New York urged the judge to deny Maxwell bail, calling her an "extreme flight risk" whose wealth and lack of ties to the U.S. give her few reasons not to attempt to flee the country.

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Updated 51 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Biden seeks $2 trillion clean energy and infrastructure spending boost

Photo: Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images

Joe Biden expanded his energy and climate plans Tuesday with a call for spending $2 trillion over four years on climate-friendly infrastructure — a proposal the campaign is casting as part of a wider economic recovery package.

Why it matters: The plan, which is the focus of a speech Biden will deliver this afternoon, represents a long-anticipated plan to move his climate platform further left and make it more expansive.

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Fadel Allassan

2 hours ago - Health

4 former CDC heads say Trump's undermining of agency puts lives at risk

CDC director Robert Redfield and President Trump. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Four former directors of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention blasted the Trump administration's "repeated efforts to subvert" agency guidelines related to reopening schools, accusing the White House in a scathing Washington Post op-ed of undermining science with "partisan potshots."

Why it matters: Former directors Tom Frieden, Jeffrey Koplan and David Satcher and acting head Richard Besser served in parts of the Obama, Bush and Clinton administrations. They said they "cannot recall over our collective tenure a single time when political pressure led to a change in the interpretation of scientific evidence."