White House Asked McGahn to Declare Trump Never Obstructed Justice  —  WASHINGTON — White House officials asked at least twice in the past month for the key witness against President Trump in the Mueller report, Donald F. McGahn II, to say publicly that he never believed the president obstructed justice …

Trump takes over Fourth of July celebration, changing its location and inserting himself into the program  —  President Trump has effectively taken charge of the nation's premier Fourth of July celebration in Washington, moving the gargantuan fireworks display from its usual spot on the Mall …

House Ways and Means Chairman Subpoenas Trump Tax Returns  —  WASHINGTON — The chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee subpoenaed the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service on Friday, disregarding the Treasury secretary's refusal this week to hand over six years …

Trump: Discussing a Biden probe with Barr would be ‘appropriate’  —  President Donald Trump told POLITICO on Friday that it would be “appropriate” for him to speak to Attorney General Bill Barr about launching an investigation into his potential 2020 rival, Joe Biden, or his son, Hunter.

Trump's new nickname for Pete Buttigieg: ‘Alfred E. Neuman’  —  President Donald Trump dismissed Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg on Friday in a single sentence.  —  “Alfred E. Neuman cannot become president of the United States,” the president told POLITICO …

Prosecutors finally want to hear from Jeffrey Epstein's victims  —  More than a decade after federal prosecutors gave a secret plea deal to a suspected child sex trafficker, the government finally wants to hear from his victims, indicating on Friday that prosecutors wish to interview …

Joe Biden once said a fence was needed to stop ‘tons’ of drugs from Mexico  —  Biden bolts to the top of Democratic rankings  —  (CNN)Joe Biden once spoke about jailing employers who hire “illegals,” said sanctuary cities shouldn't be allowed to violate federal law, and argued a fence was needed stop …

Republican lawmaker ‘visibly shaken’ after pro-life conservatives troll her for being a rape victim  —  South Carolina State Rep. Nancy Mace (R) said that weeks after sharing a personal story about being raped, she was attacked by her Republican colleague.  —  Mace, “gave the speech two weeks ago …

Dorenko died after falling from his Triumph motorbike on Thursday evening shortly before 7pm  —  He was pronounced dead at the spot with reports in the official media rapidly stating he had suffered ‘major heart failure’ and died of ‘natural causes’ - even before any autopsy was conducted.

Nadler says Mueller will not testify next week  —  House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y) said Friday that special counsel Robert Mueller will not be testifying before his panel next week.  —  Nadler told reporters that the committee is still negotiating over his testimony …

Pentagon Shifts $1.5 Billion to Border Wall From Afghan War Budget and Other Military Projects  —  WASHINGTON — The acting defense secretary, Patrick Shanahan, notified Congress on Friday that he intended to shift $1.5 billion that had been designated for the war in Afghanistan and other projects …

Pentagon Builds Deterrent Force Against Possible Iranian Attack  —  WASHINGTON — The Pentagon will deploy a Patriot antimissile battery to the Middle East to shore up defenses against Iranian threats, part of a series of carefully calibrated deployments intended to deter attacks by Iranian forces …

Lynne Patton, Trump Advisor on Urban Issues, Rejects ‘Cocaine Mitch’ Campaign by Mitch McConnell  —  Lynne Patton, a member of the Trump administration who has spoken openly of her battle with cocaine addiction, disagreed with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on his endorsement of the “Cocaine Mitch” campaign.

New Complaint Hits ‘Repeat Offender’ Kellyanne Conway For Hatch Act Violations  —  The recidivist White House aide has ignored reprimands and is again politicking on taxpayers' dime, an ethics group says.  —  The watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington has filed …

Ben Shapiro Storms Out of BBC Interview: 'I'm Popular and No One's Ever Heard of You'  —  Facts did not care about Ben Shapiro's feelings.  —  Right-wing commentator and “cool kids' philosopher” Ben Shapiro stormed out of a contentious BBC interview on Thursday after accusing the conservative host …

Trump Usually Keeps Loyalists Close.  But There Are Some Things He Can't Forgive.  —  WASHINGTON — Most people accepted into President Trump's orbit usually end up encountering the same truism: Once you're in, you're in — and even when you're down, you're rarely out for good.

Transcript: POLITICO interviews President Donald Trump on Joe Biden, impeachment, Bill Barr, North Korea  —  POLITICO's Andrew Restuccia, Eliana Johnson and Daniel Lippman spoke with President Donald Trump over the phone on Friday, May 10.  The 15-minute interview stemmed originally from questions related to a forthcoming article.

San Francisco police raid home of journalist to find who leaked Adachi report  —  Police raided the home and office of a freelance journalist Friday morning.  —  Police raided the home and office of a freelance journalist Friday morning as part of an ongoing investigation …

O'Rourke won't commit to unconditionally supporting Democrats in exchange with New Hampshire voter  —  (CNN)Presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke on Friday refused to commit his unconditional support to Democrats down the ticket in 2020 should he secure his party's nomination, in a contentious exchange with a New Hampshire voter.

Democrats are complicit if they don't impeach Trump  —  Julian E. Zelizer is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University.  —  As President Trump moves in aggressive fashion to block and obstruct congressional investigations, House Democrats seem unsure what to do.

US government records $160.3 billion April surplus  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government recorded a $160.3 billion surplus in April as revenues for the month jumped to an all-time high.  But even with a flood of tax receipts, the deficit so far this year is running 37.7% higher than a year ago.

Trump off on Puerto Rico funding by $50 billion: Weekly Fact Check  —  President Donald Trump held an impromptu news conference with a small number of reporters at the White House on Thursday during an event calling for new laws to protect patients from unexpectedness medical bills.

Jared Kushner's Peace Plan Would Be a Disaster  —  The only way to protect the long-term viability of the plan's best aspects is to kill it.  —  Last week, I interviewed White House adviser Jared Kushner on the Middle East peace process at The Washington Institute's annual conference, an event broadcast live on C-SPAN.