Trump lawyers issue letter fighting tax return request  —  Trump on releasing his tax returns: Speak to my lawyers  —  Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump continues to hold his ground against Democratic efforts to obtain his tax returns, with one administration official telling CNN …

If Biden Runs, They'll Tear Him Up  —  The old Democratic Party was warm, like him.  The new one rising is colder, less human and divisive.

Mnuchin losing two senior Treasury aides  —  Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is about to lose two of his most trusted aides, just as House Democrats ramp up pressure on his department to release President Donald Trump's tax returns.  —  Eli Miller, chief of staff at Treasury …

Trump is floundering disastrously on multiple fronts.  Stop pretending he's in control.  —  Because so many of us got it so wrong in 2016, there's a tendency among many commentators to reflexively assume President Trump possesses some kind of hidden sway over the political environment that we're all missing.

Accused of money laundering in Russia, former NC congressman's bank loses license  —  A Russian bank owned by former North Carolina Congressman Charles Taylor has been accused of money laundering and lost its license, according to Bloomberg News.  —  The Commercial Bank of Ivanovo …

Trump Is Already Plotting His Post-White House Tell-All Memoir  —  The president is ‘excited’ about penning a dishy book.  So much so that he keeps talking about the scores he plans to settle.  —  As he navigates turbulent domestic and international affairs, President Donald Trump …

Trump's next possible Fed nominee can't understand basic policy issues  —  Nein, nein, nein.  —  That should be the Senate's response if President Trump actually nominates his friend Herman Cain, the former pizza magnate turned failed Republican presidential candidate, to the Federal Reserve Board, as Trump said he plans to do.

Free speech means I don't have to be nice to Devin Nunes on Twitter.  So why's he suing me?  —  I didn't act like Miss Congeniality toward a member of Congress.  He's upset that I did my job, so now he's trying to stifle my free speech and yours.  —  CONNECT

Trump ditches his nominee to lead ICE, says he wants someone ‘tougher’ for top immigration enforcement role  —  President Trump said Friday he is looking for someone “tougher” to lead the country's top immigration enforcement agency, hours after the White House unexpectedly withdrew its nomination …

The IRS Tried to Take on the Ultrawealthy.  It Didn't Go Well.  —  Ten years ago, the tax agency formed a special team to unravel the complex tax-lowering strategies of the nation's wealthiest people.  But with big money — and Congress — arrayed against the team, it never had a chance.

Critical Carlos reads ‘Healthy Holly’  —  Inside the children's book that has landed Baltimore's mayor in a political scandal  —  Hi, I'm Critical Carlos, and I want you to read books like I do!  Reading is good for your brain and helps us all learn.  If you read enough books, then one day …

U.S. to Designate Iranian Guard Corps a Foreign Terror Group  —  The Trump administration is preparing to designate Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization, U.S. officials said, a step that would vastly escalate the American pressure campaign against Tehran but which has divided U.S. officials.

Exclusive: Teresa Tomlinson is taking first official step toward a US Senate bid  —  Former Columbus Mayor Teresa Tomlinson is planning to take the first official steps today toward challenging Republican U.S. Senator David Perdue in the 2020 election, according to an exclusive interview Thursday with the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer.

Elizabeth Warren will back ending the Senate filibuster  —  Interviewer chases Warren as she runs to catch train  —  (CNN)Sen. Elizabeth Warren is set to call Friday for eliminating the filibuster, publicly endorsing for the first time a drastic change to Senate rules that would allow Democrats …

Is Pete Buttigieg a Transformational Candidate?  —  One of the reasons I thought Donald Trump would win in 2016 was not just that he was focusing on the core issues roiling the middle classes (immigration and globalization).  It was because he had the perfect foil for his persona in Hillary Clinton.

In New Documents, Cohen Says Trump “Instructed” Him To Lie  —  WASHINGTON — Attorneys for Michael Cohen, President Trump's former fixer, submitted documents to lawmakers Thursday night accusing Trump and his team of lawyers of instructing Cohen to lie to Congress about when negotiations ended to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.

Where Rudy Giuliani's Money Comes From  —  When Rudy Giuliani traveled to Ukraine's second-biggest city, Kharkiv, in November 2017 to advise the mayor, an unconventional scene awaited him.  In an anteroom outside the mayor's office, his pet parrot, Johnny, perched in a large metal cage.

That Noise?  The Rich Neighbors Digging a Basement Pool in Their $100 Million Brownstone  —  The extremely loud and incredibly expensive renovations that have shattered a formerly quiet residential block in Manhattan.  —  In the middle of West 69th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue …

Ex-spy Valerie Plame eyes run for Congress in New Mexico  —  ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Former CIA operative, author and activist Valerie Plame said Friday she is considering a 2020 run for an open U.S. congressional seat in New Mexico.  —  Plame told The Associated Press she is spending time with residents and will make a decision soon.

The “Witch Hunt” Lives: Trump and the Investigation That Just Won't End  —  President Trump may have thought that he was done with the Mueller investigation, but it is not yet done with him.  A barrage of news that came out in the course of a few hours on Wednesday reinforced …

What the heck does Steve King do all day?  —  Shunned by his party's leadership, bounced from congressional hearings, removed from key parts of the legislative process, and serving in the House minority — the Republican from Iowa has less to do than any congressman in recent history.

Trump to have dinner at his for-profit golf course near L.A. during West Coast trip  —  President Trump plans to have dinner at his for-profit golf course in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., Friday night, with his son Eric Trump, the city council and dozens of friends and supporters, according to one person who was told about the gathering.

Saudi Arabia arrests more activists, including 2 US citizens  —  DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia detained eight people, including two dual U.S.-Saudi citizens, in a new round of arrests in the kingdom targeting individuals supportive of women's rights and those with ties to jailed activists …

That Fox-y feeling?  The nation's largest TV station owner hires some familiar Fox News names  —  Sinclair Broadcast Group, the nation's largest TV station owner, rolled out its latest news and public affairs program this week, a one-hour broadcast called “America This Week” hosted by Eric Bolling.

Appeals court narrows path for disclosure of grand jury info in Mueller report  —  A federal appeals court on Friday tossed an obstacle in the way of grand jury information in special counsel Robert Mueller's final report being released directly to the public, but the decision may not slow disclosure of that material to Congress.