memeorandum: As president, Harris would pursue Trump obstruction case (Elana Schor/Associated Press)

11:55 AM ET, June 12, 2019

Top Items:

NPR:

Harris: Justice Dept. ‘Would Have No Choice’ But To Prosecute Trump After Presidency — California Sen. Kamala Harris says that if she's elected president, her administration's Department of Justice would likely pursue criminal obstruction of justice charges against a former President Donald Trump.

Discussion: Axios, Fox News, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, Shakesville, Politico, Washington Post, IJR, The Daily Caller, Washington Times, The Daily Beast, The Week and twitchy.com

Elana Schor / Associated Press:

As president, Harris would pursue Trump obstruction case — WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris said Wednesday that if she wins the White House, her Justice Department “would have no choice” but to pursue an obstruction of justice case against President Donald Trump after he leaves office.

Discussion: Washington Press

Stephen Robinson / Wonkette:
Kamala Harris Doesn't Have To Explain Her Kickass Self To Your Dumb Asses

Discussion: Reason, Instapundit and National Review

Axios:

Trump asserts executive privilege over Census citizenship documents — On the advice of the Justice Department, President Trump has asserted executive privilege over subpoenaed documents related to the House Oversight Committee's investigation of the Census citizenship question.

Discussion: Breitbart, One America News Network and Politico

Washington Post:

Trump asserts executive privilege to shield documents on census citizenship question — President Trump asserted executive privilege Wednesday to shield documents about the administration's decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, a move meant to try to undercut an expected vote …

Discussion: Mother Jones, Political Wire and Daily Kos

Andrew Desiderio / Politico:

Trump asserts executive privilege to block access to census documents — President Donald Trump on Wednesday moved to block Congress' access to documents about how a citizenship question was added to the 2020 census. — Trump claimed executive privilege over subpoenaed documents at the urging …

Discussion: The Daily Beast and Axios

Washington Post: Trump asserts executive privilege to shield documents from House panel investigating decision …

W.J. Hennigan / TIME:

Trump Administration to Hold Migrant Children at Base That Served as WWII Japanese Internment Camp — The Trump Administration has opted to use an Army base in Oklahoma to hold growing numbers of immigrant children in its custody after running out of room at government shelters.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Splinter and Balloon Juice

Rebecca Klar / The Hill:
Trump administration to send migrant children to Army base once used as Japanese internment camp

Discussion: Big League Politics and Instapundit

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Freedom Caucus Expels Amash for Being Too Pro-Freedom — The tea party, like the Roman Empire, disintegrated slowly such that it is impossible to precisely mark the date of its expiration. But yesterday could be as good a moment as any to connote its demise — or, more precisely …

Discussion: Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Reason and Outside the Beltway

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

Trump looks to squash Amash — The president has discussed with aides backing a primary challenge against the lone Republican impeachment supporter. — Donald Trump and his top allies are moving to make Justin Amash pay for becoming the sole Republican congressman to call for the president's impeachment.

Discussion: Hot Air, Axios, Talking Points Memo, The Federalist, Daily Kos and Joe.My.God.

Star Tribune:

Ilhan Omar's credibility takes another hit — Tax return irregularities are just the latest misstep by the first-term congresswoman. — By Editorial Board Star Tribune — TEXT SIZE — U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar is back in the news again, and not in a good way.

Discussion: Hot Air, Power Line and WCCO | CBS Minnesota

Edward-Isaac Dovere / The Atlantic:

As Bernie Sanders Leans Into Socialism, His Rivals Laugh — WATERLOO, Iowa—Making Elizabeth Warren laugh can be tricky. Throwing her off her talking points is almost impossible. Both happened when she heard that her 2020 opponent Bernie Sanders is scheduled to deliver a “major address” …

CNN:
Bernie Sanders makes the case for democratic socialism as Trump attacks and moderate Democrats worry

Discussion: National Review, New York Post and Splinter

Holly Otterbein / Politico:
Sanders: Trump wants socialism for corporations and rich people

Discussion: New York Times, Breitbart and New York Post

David M. Drucker / Washington Examiner:

Fear of a blue Texas: New GOP group to spend millions registering Republicans — Wealthy Republican donors are preparing a multimillion-dollar effort to register more than 1 million new GOP voters in Texas for 2020 amid anxiety that President Trump could be in more trouble in this reliably red state than some in the party realize.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, CNN, The Week, Splinter and Political Wire

NBC News:

Reps of 22 foreign governments have spent money at Trump properties — The number of foreign governments hints at a significant foreign cash flow to the U.S. president that critics say violates the Constitution. — WASHINGTON — Representatives of at least 22 foreign governments appear …

Discussion: Joe.My.God.

USA Today:

Seniors were sold a risk-free retirement with reverse mortgages. Now they face foreclosure. — Urban African American neighborhoods are hardest hit as nearly 100,000 loans have failed. — Show caption Hide caption — Patricia Blair looks over the items left in the basement as she prepares …

Ezra Klein / Vox:

Elizabeth Warren's plan to pass her plans — The 2020 candidate on how she'd get rid of the filibuster, curb political corruption, and persuade Americans that government can work for them. — Oligarchic capitalism? Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has a plan for that. Opioid deaths?

Discussion: Political Wire

Connor Sheets / ProPublica:

Wasted Funds, Destroyed Property: How Sheriffs Undermined Their Successors After Losing Reelection — Alabama sheriffs who lost reelection in 2018 personally pocketed funds and deleted public records, an investigation by AL.com and ProPublica found. Holes were drilled through government-issued smartphones …

Maureen Groppe / USA Today:

Exclusive: Rep. Greg Pence amends filing that showed lodging charge at Trump hotel — WASHINGTON - Greg Pence, a freshman congressman and brother of Vice President Mike Pence, reported spending more than $7,600 in campaign funds on lodging at the Trump International Hotel in the first few months …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Roll Call

Jacqueline Alemany / Washington Post:

Power Up: Fire and farmers: Trump and Biden duel in Iowa over ways to tackle China threat — Salutations, Power Peeps. Insert pithy greeting here. Reach out, sign up and forward to your friends. Thanks for waking up with us. — Outside the Beltway — BATTLE OF IOWA …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, New York Times, Althouse and Fox News

Makini Brice / Reuters:
Trump publicly opposes using CIA informants against North Korea's Kim

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Atlantic, Mediaite and Washington Press

Heather Long / Washington Post:

GOP leader concedes tax cuts may not pay for themselves as 2019 deficit grows — Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Tex.), a lead architect of the GOP tax bill, suggested Tuesday the tax cuts may not fully pay for themselves, contradicting a promise Republicans made repeatedly while pushing the law in late 2017.

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA and Political Wire

Bloomberg:

Trump's Net Worth Rises to $3 Billion Despite Business Setbacks — Wealth boosted by surging value of stake in two Vornado towers — Golf courses and resort properties declined by $125 million — President Donald Trump's net worth rose to $3 billion, a 5% gain over the past year …

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Miriam Jordan / New York Times:

An Arizona Teacher Helped Migrants. Jurors Couldn't Decide if It Was a Crime. — TUCSON — For 15 years, volunteers have trekked into the Arizona desert to place jugs of water, canned beans and blankets in spots where migrants traverse the most treacherous reaches of the borderlands.

Discussion: Washington Post, ThinkProgress, Arizona Republic, Wonkette, The Week and Newser

Hayes Brown / BuzzFeed News:

The Creator Of HBO's “Chernobyl” Would Love If You Stopped Taking Nuclear Disaster Selfies — If you're like a lot of people out there, you've been watching HBO's miniseries Chernobyl with a blend of fascination and horror. — (Not this author, though — studying nuclear war in college was more than enough radioactivity.

Discussion: The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, VICE News, Sputnik International and Consequence of Sound

Los Angeles Times:

Trump's big, early lead in Facebook ads deeply worries Democratic strategists … Almost every time voters who lean toward President Trump visit Facebook, they get deluged with invitations to his rallies or pleas to support his immigration policies: That's no surprise — the platform was central to his victorious 2016 campaign.

CNN:

Chief Justice John Roberts is about to show his cards — Chief Justice Roberts has a tough dilemma — Washington (CNN)With a deadline for nearly 30 cases looming and weighty issues of religion, gerrymandering and the 2020 census pending, Chief Justice John Roberts took his black leather chair …

Jacob Pramuk / CNBC:

Trump and Pelosi can still work together, but an infrastructure deal is likely not happening, White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney says — KEY POINTS — White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney says President Donald Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will have to work together …

Chad P. Bown / PIIE:

Trump Has Gotten China to Lower Its Tariffs. Just Toward Everyone Else. — China increased its retaliatory tariffs hitting US exports on June 1 in response to President Donald Trump's latest escalation of his trade war. Yet, this action is only half of the bad news for US exporters.

Kevin Sieff / Washington Post:

‘The migration problem is a coffee problem’ — In western Guatemala, cultivating coffee was once a way out of poverty. As prices fall, growers are abandoning their farms for the United States. — HOJA BLANCA, Guatemala — From his wooden hut in the foothills of the Sierra Madre …

Discussion: Breitbart

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:

Biden leads Trump by ‘landslide proportions’ in new national poll — Former Vice President Joe Biden leads President Trump by 13 points nationally, according to the latest Quinnipiac University survey. — In a national head-to-head matchup, the poll found Biden taking 53 percent …

Alison Durkee / Vanity Fair:

Shep Smith Urges Fox News Viewers to Actually Read the Mueller Report — “Everyone in America should read” the 400-plus page report, the Fox News anchor said. “Everyone.” — Viewers tuning into Fox News Tuesday expecting the network's more typical pro-Trump reporting may have been surprised to hear a different kind of message.

Discussion: The Hill, VICE News and POLITICUSUSA

RealClearInvestigations:

It Started With a Lie: Bruce Ohr's Linchpin Role in Russiagate — Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohr was perfectly positioned to advance the Russia collusion narrative. He had a rare set of relationships — ties to opposition researchers and the FBI — and would use his links …

Discussion: Real Clear Politics

Jeff Zeleny / CNN:

Steve King not allowed on Air Force One for Trump's trip to Iowa Tuesday — (CNN)Rep. Steve King, the Iowa Republican who was stripped of his congressional committee assignments earlier this year, was not allowed to fly aboard Air Force One on Tuesday as President Donald Trump traveled to Iowa, two GOP officials say.

Discussion: HuffPost, Vanity Fair, IJR, KTVQ-TV, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, Splinter, Joe.My.God., New York Post and Mediaite

Chelsia Rose Marcius / The Daily Beast:

Ariana Grande Donates Proceeds From Atlanta Concert to Planned Parenthood — Pop superstar Ariana Grande has donated the proceeds from her sold-out Atlanta concert to Planned Parenthood, TMZ reports. The singer gave $300,000 to the nonprofit from her June 8 show in Georgia …

Discussion: TMZ.com and Just Jared

Sue Halpern / New Yorker:

Mitch McConnell is Making the 2020 Election Open Season for Hackers — On May 21st, four commissioners who compose the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (E.A.C.) were asked to attest, in Congress, that they agreed with the findings of the special counsel Robert Mueller that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. election.

Discussion: Daily Kos and Slate

The Independent:

Outrage on Capitol Hill over ‘completely unacceptable’ US-funded scheme to shape Iran debate — ‘This is something that happens in authoritarian regimes, not democracies’ — United States officials say they are outraged by a government-funded troll campaign that has targeted American citizens critical …

Discussion: The American Conservative

The Daily Beast:

Mexican Officials Have a Trick for Navigating Trump: Ignore the Tweets and Go to Jared — As the president threatened to inflict economically painful tariffs, his son-in-law made more diplomatic overtures. — It was Friday night last week and top officials in Mexico …

Discussion: Shareblue Media

Associated Press:

Joe Morrissey wins Virginia Senate primary 4 years after scandal — A former Virginia lawmaker who used to spend his days at the state Capitol and his nights in jail after being accused of having sex with his teenage secretary has won a contested primary in his bid for a state Senate seat.

Dave Price / WHOTV:

Biden Explains Flip on Abortion, Deals with Heckler at Ottumwa Rally — OTTUMWA, Iowa — Former Vice President Joe Biden, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate from Delaware, told Channel 13 that restrictions to abortions occurring at states across the country compelled him to change …

Discussion: Washington Times, Des Moines Register and Washington Post