Day 46: Revised.
1/ Trump signed a more limited executive order on immigration. The revised travel ban blocks entry to the US for citizens from six of the seven countries named in Trump’s original order. People from Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Syria and Libya will face a 90-day suspension of visa processing. Iraq was removed from the list of countries affected. The order will keep in place a 120-day suspension of the refugee program, but it will no longer identify Syrian refugees as subject to an indefinite ban. The revisions are meant to help it withstand a court challenge. (The Guardian)
- New executive order bans travelers from six Muslim-majority countries applying for visas. Trump is preparing to sign a new executive order that imposes a 90-day ban on entry for new visa seekers from six majority-Muslim nations. The nation’s refugee program will also be suspended for 120 days, and it will not accept more than 50,000 refugees in a year, down from the 110,000 cap set by Obama. (Washington Post)
2/ FBI Director Comey asked Justice officials to refute Trump’s unproven wiretapping claim. The former director of national intelligence under Obama flatly denied that any wiretap of Trump or his campaign was carried out. (Washington Post)
3/ White House spokeswoman: Trump doesn’t believe Comey that Obama didn’t wiretap. Asked by George Stephanopoulos if Trump was willing to accept the denial of his FBI director, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said he was not. (Politico)
- Trump rejects Comey assertion that wiretapping claim is false. On “Good Morning America,” a spokeswoman, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said President Trump continues to believe he was wiretapped by President Barack Obama. (New York Times)
4/ Chaffetz: I’ve seen no evidence Obama ordered wiretap of Trump. If Trump’s allegation is true, Chaffetz said, “the paper trail should be there” from whatever court authorized the wiretap. (Politico)
5/ Conway blames Trump’s wiretap dust-up on “double standard.” Criticism directed at the president is unfair, Conway said, especially from the media that she complained has regularly cited anonymous sources in reports that have proven damaging to the Trump administration. Those same media outlets have too quickly dismissed Trump’s wiretapping allegation, Conway said. (Politico)
6/ Russian hackers are targeting U.S. liberals in a new wave of attacks, scouring the organizations’ emails for embarrassing details and attempting to extract hush money. (Bloomberg)
7/ The Supreme Court won’t hear the Case on transgender rights after the Trump administration changed the federal government’s position on whether public schools had to allow transgender youths to use bathrooms that matched their gender identities. (New York Times)
8/ The Supreme Court ruled that confidential deliberations must be disclosed if there’s evidence of racial bias by jurors. “The nation must continue to make strides to overcome race-based discrimination,” Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote for the majority. (New York Times)
9/ Russia’s take on Trump: Glee gives way to frustration. Russian officials bemoan “witch hunt” and “hysteria” in Washington. (CNN)
poll/ Most back special prosecutor for Russia investigation. 65% of Americans would rather see a special prosecutor handle the investigation, while 32% think Congress is capable of handling it. (CNN)
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