Bradley P. Moss/Lawfare:
Why the White House Can’t Stop Omarosa Manigault-Newman From Talking
This is not the first time reports have surfaced about the administration’s use of agreements. In March 2018, Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post wrote that the president pressured senior White House staffers to sign additional non-disclosure agreements (NDAs)when they joined the administration, similar to the infamous NDAs upon which he relied throughout his time in private business.
There is understandably a bit of confusion regarding to what extent federal employees can be subject to NDAs once they leave government service, and the current White House does itself no favors by continuing to give vague and non-descript answers on the subject. But contrary to what the president might think, he lacks any authority to censor the unclassified communications of former federal employees.
Cameron Joseph/TPM:
Donald Trump’s Trade Wars Are Roiling Wisconsin GOP
Wisconsin is one of many midwestern states where Trump’s trade war is roiling local industries, and could boost Democrats’ prospects this fall.
And dairy isn’t the only GOP-leaning industry in the state that’s been shaken by Trump’s trade wars. Wisconsin’s corn and soybean farmers aren’t thrilled either, and one iconic Wisconsin company has taken a hit as well. Harley Davidson’s bottom line risks major damage from Trump’s steel tariffs. When the Milwaukee-based company said it will start making its motorcycles for the European market over there to sidestep fallout from Trump’s trade war, the president responded with a call to boycott:
AP:
Democratic voters were more enthusiastic than Republicans in nearly a dozen federal special elections since President Donald Trump took office, an Associated Press analysis found, giving party leaders hope that even a series of narrow losses in GOP territory bodes well for them in November.
With the special elections now concluded ahead of the fall midterms, an AP review of nine House races and an Alabama special Senate election showed Democratic candidates consistently outperforming Republicans compared to the two parties’ usual vote totals in regular general elections.
The strong Democratic turnout is a key factor fueling the party’s hopes of regaining control of the House in November for the first time in eight years. It’s particularly significant because Democrats often struggle to turn out their voters when a presidential candidate isn’t on the ballot. The special election voting numbers could signal a change heading into the fall.
Quinnipiac:
"Not the kind of numbers that gets you a date to the prom - or helps your party as the Midterm Elections approach. Only one in three Americans 'likes' President Donald Trump," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.
"For President Trump, another Groundhog Day. His job approval gets another cool reception in midst of the sweltering summer. What does it mean? Simple: The base is hanging in and the rest aren't buying in."
Erica Grieder/Houston Chronicle:
But the attorney general did not address the fact that hundreds of children have yet to be reunited with their parents as a result of his hardline approach to immigration enforcement, or that thousands have been traumatized, in the service of a bankrupt ideology. Facts like that cast a bit of a pall over his visit, perhaps. And they are bound to put restrictionists at a disadvantage in future debates over policy.
But that’s for conservatives to worry about, in the years to come. They made the decision to hitch their horse to Trump's wagon long ago and stuck by it even after the events last August that left one young woman dead and horrified a clear majority of their fellow Americans. What happened in Charlottesville should have been a wake-up call, for Republicans. The fact that it wasn’t is a wake-up call for everyone.
Politico:
Wisconsin Dems jump at chance to finally beat Walker
Education official Tony Evers is the Democratic front-runner in one of the nation's most crowded primaries.
Once there's a Democratic nominee, the contrast between Walker and the Democrat will crystallize, said Republican strategist Mark Graul.
"The governor has been in sort of a vacuum. Either you're for Scott Walker or you're not for Scott Walker. And after Tuesday I think it'll be 'either you're for Scott Walker or whether it be Evers or Roys or Mitchell,'" Graul said. "So there will be a clear contrast of what people's choices are going to be in November."
Click on this tweet and read details:
Vanity Fair:
“THERE WON’T EVEN BE A PAPER TRAIL”: HAS STEPHEN MILLER BECOME A SHADOW MASTER AT THE STATE DEPARTMENT?
For the past year, Miller has been quietly gutting the U.S. refugee program, slashing the number of people allowed into the country to the lowest level in decades. “His name hasn’t been on anything,” says a former U.S. official who worked on refugee issues. “He is working behind the scenes, he has planted all of his people in all of these positions, he is on the phone with them all of the time, and he is creating a side operation that will circumvent the normal, transparent policy process.” And he is succeeding.
Ryan Cooper/The Week:
America for sale
Let's review some news from the first half of the week.
Monday: The trial of President Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort revealed jaw-dropping crimes, and continues to do so. His key lieutenant in his former lobbying business, Rick Gates, testified that they committed multiple instances of bank and tax fraud together.
Also on Monday, The Associated Press reported that as part of a quasi-genocidal, U.S.-supported war in Yemen, Saudi Arabia is providing quiet assistance to al Qaeda, including funding, arming, and straight-up recruiting jihadis into their coalition. What's more, America was in on it: "Key participants in the pacts said the U.S. was aware of the arrangements and held off on any drone strikes."
Nicholas Bagley and Abbe R. Gluck/NY Times:
Trump’s Sabotage of Obamacare Is Illegal
A president doesn’t have the right to dispense with laws he dislikes.
From the moment he took office, President Trump has used all aspects of his executive power to sabotage the Affordable Care Act. He has issued executive orders, directed agencies to come up with new rules and used the public platform of the presidency in a blatant attempt to undermine the law. Indeed, he has repeatedly bragged about doing so, making statements like, “Essentially, we are getting rid of Obamacare.”
But Mr. Trump isn’t a king; he doesn’t have the power to dispense with laws he dislikes. He swore to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. That includes the requirement, set forth in Article II, that the president “take care that the laws be faithfully executed.”
Faithfully executing the laws requires the president to act reasonably and in good faith. It does not countenance the deliberate sabotage of an act of Congress. Put bluntly: Mr. Trump’s assault on Obamacare is illegal.
CNN:
CNN poll: Most say Mueller should try to end investigation before Election Day
Two-thirds of Americans, including majorities across party lines, would like to see special counsel Robert Mueller try to finish the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election before voters go to the polls to elect a new Congress this November.
That result, from a new CNN poll conducted by
SSRS, comes amid rebounding approval ratings for both President Donald Trump and Mueller for their handling of the investigation, and
a growing share of voters who say the investigation will matter to their vote this fall…
At the same time, Trump's overall approval rating of 42% is about the same as its level this spring, suggesting few opinions have changed as a result of an eventful summer in the White House.
The ultimate outcome matters. And that outcome is unknown. Don’t assume ‘nothing changes’.
Adam Serwer/Atlantic:
America Doesn’t Need Another Tape to Know Who Trump Is
No one in this exchange is surprised, because they all know Trump so well. Pierson and Manigault-Newman are actually convinced he said it. That’s one of the stranger paradoxes of this political era: Trump’s political opponents know who he is. His aides know who he is. Americans don’t need a tape to know who Trump is, or what he represents. He’s already shown who he is. He shows it every day.
The only people still laboring under the delusion that Trump lacks the animus to use a racial epithet are some of the people who voted for him. It would be naive to think that a mere recording of him using it would alter that.