Day 371: Extraordinarily reckless.
1/ Trump proposed immigration legislation that could provide a path to citizenship for an estimated 1.8 million DREAMers in exchange for a $25 billion “trust fund” to build a border wall and assorted border security upgrades. The plan will be sent to the Senate on Monday, which White House officials called an “extremely generous” take-it-or-leave-it proposal. Yesterday, Trump said he’d be willing to consider a path to citizenship for DREAMers that would allow young undocumented immigrants to “morph” into citizens after 10 to 12 years. The off-the-cuff comment sent White House staffers scrambling in what one official called a “fire drill.” (Washington Post / New York Times)
2/ Ty Cobb walked back Trump’s statement that he was “looking forward” to speaking with Robert Mueller’s team and that he would “absolutely” do so under oath. The White House lawyer said Trump was speaking hurriedly and only wanted to say that he was willing to meet, adding that Trump is “ready to meet with them, but he’ll be guided by the advice of his personal counsel.” (New York Times)
3/ Robert Mueller gave Trump’s lawyers a list of potential topics he wants to ask Trump about. The move is part of the ongoing negotiations surrounding an interview involving Trump and the special counsel. The topics are focused primarily on obstruction of justice issues, including the firings of Michael Flynn and James Comey. (CNN)
4/ The Senate Judiciary Committee intends to share Trump Jr.’s testimony with Robert Mueller. Democrats suggested that Trump Jr. may have made false statements to the committee, and are pressing the committee’s Republican chairman to give Mueller the transcripts from the panel’s interviews with key witnesses in the Russia probe. Chairman Chuck Grassley said he wants to release the transcripts the committee has done about the meeting at Trump Tower. (Politico / Reuters)
5/ A “spooked” Jared Kushner won’t agree to an interview with the Senate Judiciary Committee, according to Chairman Chuck Grassley. Kushner’s legal team has not officially decline an appearance, but has asked for guidance on when committee members would disclose information. (Bloomberg)
6/ Dutch intelligence spied on the Russian group believed to be behind the hack of the Democratic Party ahead of U.S. elections. AIVD provided information about the Moscow-based group known as Cozy Bear, who are believed to be linked to the Russian government to the FBI. (Reuters / de Volkskrant)
7/ The Justice Department warned the House Intelligence Committee chairman that releasing The Memo™ would be “extraordinarily reckless.” The memo claims that the FBI abused its powers under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act in order to spy on the Trump campaign. (New York Times)
poll/ 60% of Americans support marijuana legalization. 37% of Trump voters support legalization. (NBC News)
Notables.
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The NSA has deleted “honesty” and “openness” from its core values website. The page outlines the agency’s mission statement, which now features “commitment to service” as its top value, instead of honesty. (The Intercept)
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The Trump administration wants to end support for the International Space Station program by 2025. The ISS costs NASA between $3 and $4 billion each year, and represents a more than $87 billion investment by the US government. (The Verge)
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Trump said he’d be willing to re-enter the Trans-Pacific Partnership if it were renegotiated into a “substantially better deal” for the U.S. Last January Trump signed an executive withdrawing the U.S. from the trade pact. (Politico)
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A one-page memo from Paul Manafort suggests that federal investigators had an informant inside Manafort’s consulting firm. Manafort’s attorneys appear to have accidentally filed the memo in court as part of a routine scheduling motion. (Politico)
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The missing texts between FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page have been recovered, the Justice Department said. (Axios / Twitter)
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The Doomsday Clock moved forward 30 seconds as the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists called the current state of geopolitical affairs “grim.” It’s now 2 minutes to “midnight.” (Washington Post)
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