1/ The New York State attorney general sued Trump and his three eldest children for “persistent illegal conduct” at the Donald J. Trump Foundation. The lawsuit alleges that Trump repeatedly misused the nonprofit, violating campaign finance laws, engaging in self-dealing to decorate one of his golf clubs, and illegally coordinating with his presidential campaign to stage a multimillion-dollar giveaway during a 2016 campaign event. The state asked to dissolve the foundation and distribute its remaining $1 million in assets to other charities, and force Trump to pay at least $2.8 million in restitution and penalties. Trump attacked the lawsuit on Twitter, calling it an attempt by the “sleazy New York Democrats” to damage him. He vowed not to settle the case. (New York Times / Washington Post)

2/ The Inspector General Report: James Comey “deviated” from FBI and Justice Department procedures while investigating Hillary Clinton and her use of a private email server. The report concluded that Comey’s decisions were not “the result of political bias,” but that his “decisions negatively impacted the perception of the FBI and the department as fair administrators of justice.” Trump has argued that FBI agents tried to rig the Clinton investigation to help her win the presidency. The report also concludes that the text messages exchanged by FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page did not improperly affect the investigation, but “the conduct by these employees cast a cloud over the entire FBI investigation.” (Bloomberg / New York Times)

  • Comey Responds: I was wrong, but disagree with some of the conclusions. (New York Times)

  • Comey used a personal Gmail account to conduct official FBI business while serving as the agency’s director, which was “inconsistent” with a policy by the Justice Department. (CNBC)

3/ Sarah Huckabee Sanders and deputy press secretary Raj Shah are planning to leave the White House,according to a CBS News report. Sanders plans to leave by the end of the year, while Shah hasn’t settled on an exact date. Sanders denied the report, tweeting: “Does @CBSNews know something I don’t about my plans and my future? I was at my daughter’s year-end Kindergarten event and they ran a story about my ‘plans to leave the WH’ without even talking to me. I love my job and am honored to work for @POTUS.” (CBS News)

  • The White House sent out a flyer asking if conservatives are “interested in a job at the White House.” The email, advertising a job fair, promises “representatives from across the Trump administration will be there to meet job seekers of every experience level.” (Politico)

  • Marc Short, the White House’s top liaison to Capitol Hill, will leave his job this summer citing “diminishing returns” of pushing Trump’s agenda. (Wall Street Journal)

  • 👋 Who The F*ck Has Left The Trump Administration

4/ Jeff Sessions cited the Bible in his defense of the Trump administration’s policy of separating undocumented immigrant children from their families. Sessions invoked the Apostle Paul for his “clear and wise command” to say people should “obey the laws of the government because God has ordained the government for his purposes.” Sarah Huckabee Sanders also defended separating parents from their children, saying it’s “very biblical to enforce the law.” She then proceeded to blame on Democrats for refusing to “close the immigration loophole.” (NBC News / Talking Points Memo / Axios / CNBC)

5/ White House Counsel Don McGahn recused his entire staff from Robert Mueller’s investigation last summer because many staffers “had been significant participants” in the firings of Michael Flynn and James Comey. Former White House lawyer Ty Cobb said McGahn’s recusal was a key reason why he was hired last summer to manage Trump’s response to the Russia investigation. (Politico)

  • Trump Jr. told the hosts of “Fox and Friends” that “it would be stupid” of Trump to agree to an interview with Robert Mueller. “I don’t think any proper lawyer would say, ‘Hey, you should go do it,’ because it’s not about collusion anymore,” Trump Jr. said. “It’s about, ‘Can we get him to say something that may be interpreted as somewhat off or inaccurate, and after 50,000 questions, maybe you make a mistake, and that’s how we get you, and that’s ridiculous.” (Politico)

6/ The White House launched a campaign to discredit Michael Cohen as speculation that he is preparing to flip on Trump continues to mount. The plan involves discrediting Cohen by arguing that whatever compromising information he shares with prosecutors about Trump is a lie meant to please Mueller in order to save his own skin. The plan includes everything from Trump’s tweets, to comments from Alan Dershowitz, to front-page stories in the National Enquirer, all apparently intended to cast doubt on Cohen’s credibility and motives. (Washington Post)

  • Michael Cohen believes Trump and his allies are turning against him and that he feels increasingly isolated. (CBS News)

Notables.

  1. John Kelly revoked Rudy Giuliani’s son’s West Wing access after Trump ordered Andrew Giuliani be promoted to special assistant to the president. (Axios)

  2. The New York Court Appeals denied Trump’s motion to dismiss Summer Zervos’ defamation lawsuit against him. This is the third time Trump has tried and failed to get the case tossed or delayed. (ABC News / Vox)

  3. The Justice Department will not stop the AT&T-Time Warner merger, clearing the way for the deal to be completed as soon as Friday. (CNBC / Reuters)

  4. Trump told G7 leaders that Crimea is Russian because everyone who lives there speaks Russian. In 2014, Russia invaded and annexed Crimea from Ukraine, leading to international condemnation and sanctions, and directly leading to Russia being kicked out of the then-G8. (BuzzFeed News)

  5. Mike Pompeo said sanctions on North Korea will remain until the country has completely denuclearized. The statement contradicts North Korean state media reports that Kim and Trump agreed to a plan of “step-by-step and simultaneous action” to achieve peace and denuclearization on the Korean peninsula. (Reuters)

  6. Representative Darrell Issa is a candidate to run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The California Republican would replace Mick Mulvaney, the agency’s interim leader. (Bloomberg)

  7. The Supreme Court struck down Minnesota’s law barring voters from wearing political badges, buttons and other insignia inside a polling place. The court’s 7-2 decision said Minnesota’s interpretation of the word “political” was too broad. (NPR)

  8. A construction company owned by the Chinese government was hired to work on the Trump golf club development in Dubai. China State Construction Engineering Corp. received a $19.6 million contract from DAMAC Properties, a Trump Organization partner. (McClatchy DC)

Last year today: Day 146: Foreign emoluments.