Impeaching Rosenstein, suing Trump's hotel: More pointless Beltway theater

'MediaBuzz' host Howard Kurtz weighs in on the seemingly pointless Beltway theater behind the resolution to impeach Rod Rosenstein, and a lawsuit involving the Trump hotel a few blocks down from the White House.
One of the things that drives people crazy about Washington is all the pointless theater.
All politics involves a bit of showmanship, especially these days, but when things are done just for show, it's so much hot air.
For all the talk about fiscal responsibility, for instance, no one in this capital much cares that we're about to rack up nearly $1 trillion in additional debt over the next decade, courtesy of the Trump tax cuts for corporations, according to new figures. The Republicans used to be the party of balanced budgets, but that's out the window. The Democrats once bragged of balancing the budget during the Clinton era, but now mainly use it as an argument when the GOP is in power, and vice versa.
Deficits are not a major voting issue, the thinking goes, so both sides just yak about it while busting past limits on the national credit card.
A dozen conservative House members have now introduced a resolution to impeach Rod Rosenstein. He's not going to be impeached, of course, so it's just more theater.
In fact, Paul Ryan much ruled it out for a vote yesterday, but it remains "on the table."
Mark Meadows and Jim Jordan, among others, say the deputy attorney general is slow-walking all kinds of House document requests. The Justice Department has turned over a small mountain of documents, but some disagreements exist.
I've covered many congressional subpoena battles over the years, and sometimes they lead to contempt-of-Congress citations. (These usually are voided when the inevitable compromise is reached.) But I can't think of a case that led to a serious impeachment effort.
So even if the lawmakers' frustration with Rosenstein is justified, the resolution seems more like a public protest of his role in overseeing the Mueller investigation.
Jeff Sessions said yesterday that "my deputy, Rod Rosenstein, is highly capable. I have the highest confidence in him."
And by the way, President Trump could fire Rosenstein today (except there would be an enormous political backlash). That's why the impeachment effort isn't serious, and Meadows said yesterday he is dropping it for now.
The final bit of theater centers on a lawsuit involving the Trump hotel a few blocks down Pennsylvania Avenue. It's getting some press because a federal judge allowed the suit, filed by Maryland and D.C., to move forward.
Invoking the obscure "emoluments" clause of the Constitution, the suit argues that the president is unfairly profiting from the five-star hotel because foreign dignitaries and others seeking favor with the administration are staying there. (The hotel was already in the works when Trump declared his candidacy, and I remember him holding a campaign news conference there when it was still under construction.)
The two jurisdictions claim other hotels are being hurt, but I think the suit is all about Trump. And in the unlikely event he had to sell the hotel, he'd still make money.
Even more of a politically motivated stretch: A D.C. advisory neighborhood commission is trying to get the hotel's liquor license revoked on grounds that Trump lacks the required "moral character." And it's not even the advisory committee for that neighborhood!
So all of this makes for good kabuki, a cheap way of getting headlines, and creating the appearance of action. But the deficits aren't shrinking, Rosenstein isn't going anywhere, and the Trump International Hotel will probably be serving guests for a long time to come.
Howard Kurtz is a Fox News analyst and the host of "MediaBuzz" (Sundays 11 a.m.). He is the author "Media Madness: Donald Trump, The Press and the War Over the Truth." Follow him at @HowardKurtz. Click here for more information on Howard Kurtz.

On trade policy, Trump is turning GOP orthodoxy on its head

President Donald Trump's trade policies are turning long-established Republican orthodoxy on its head, marked by tariff fights and now $12 billion in farm aid that represents the type of government intervention GOP voters railed against a decade ago.
President George W. Bush increased the number of countries partnering with the United States on free trade agreements from three to 16. President Ronald Reagan signed a landmark trade deal with Canada that was later transformed into the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and expanded to include Mexico. Both those Republican presidents also enacted tariffs, but their comments on trade were overwhelmingly positive.
"We should beware of the demagogues who are ready to declare a trade war against our friends, weakening our economy, our national security and the entire free world, all while cynically waiving the American flag," Reagan said in a 1988 radio address.
Trump, by comparison, has called NAFTA "the worst trade deal maybe ever signed anywhere," and his administration has opted to use tariffs as a tool intended to leverage more favorable agreements with virtually every major U.S. trading partner. He shredded the trade agreement the Obama administration tried to work out with Pacific Rim nations that had strong backing from farm groups and chief executives from major U.S. corporations.
Republicans also have altered the priority of tackling the national debt, an issue the GOP hammered President Barack Obama on as the country struggled to recover from the 2008 economic crisis. "Our nation is approaching a tipping point," GOP Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, now the House speaker, said in January 2011 when the national debt hit $14 trillion.
Today, the Congressional Budget Office projects the $21 trillion debt will rise to more than $33 trillion in 10 years. That estimate notes that the tax cut lawmakers passed in December would increase economic output, but add $1.8 trillion to the deficit over the coming decade.
The GOP's evolving priorities are not lost on some in the party. Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., who lost a close primary election this year after butting heads with Trump on some issues, said he finds it "perplexingly destructive" for the GOP brand.
"It takes a long while to build a brand, but brands can be diminished or destroyed in relatively short order, and I think the administration is destroying bedrock cornerstones to what the party has historically stood for," Sanford said. "There is no conversation on the debt, deficit and government spending these days. That has been a cornerstone."
Sanford made headlines as South Carolina governor when he said he would reject stimulus money approved during the financial crisis because he did not think the country should go into debt to fund recovery efforts.
"Here we are now with a hypothetical $12 billion bailout package and you don't hear a word," Sanford said. "That is quite a transition in not so many years from decrying what the Obama administration had done with bailouts to now endorsing the idea of bailouts."
Trump, in a Friday interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity's radio show, said the strong economy would help the U.S. reduce the deficit. "The economy, we can go a lot higher ... We have $21 trillion in debt. When this really kicks in we'll start paying off that debt like water. We'll start paying that debt down."

"The economy, we can go a lot higher. ... We have $21 trillion in debt. When this really kicks in we'll start paying off that debt like water. We'll start paying that debt down."
- President Trump, speaking to Fox News' Sean Hannity on Friday

The administration's plan on the bailout announced last week would borrow money from the Treasury to pay producers of soybeans, sorghum, corn, wheat, cotton, dairy, and hogs. Many farmers have criticized Trump's tariffs and the damage done to commodity prices and markets.
Some GOP lawmakers are expressing concerns. "I didn't come up here to start new government programs," said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La.
But it's unlikely that the Republican-controlled Congress will try to block the administration's agricultural aid plan.
"I'm looking at this and saying, 'You're going to single out one sector?' What about the manufacturing sector? What about the energy sector?" said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. "Where do you draw the line? I've got some real concerns."
But others praised the move. GOP Rep. Mike Conaway of Texas, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, called it "welcome relief."
"This is the right fight to have, but in the meantime, our producers have got to live as this fight is going on," Conaway said of a trade dispute with China that has prompted the imposition of tariffs by both nations.
Conaway said the president has reshaped the way Republicans think about trade.
"He's kind of changed the narrative of the conversation that it's really not OK to let other people take advantage of America," Conaway said.
Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., said it's clear the GOP has changed over the past two years with Trump in office.
"This is the party of Trump. He calls the plays and they line up and they execute the play," Kildee said.

"This is the party of Trump. He calls the plays and they line up and they execute the play."
- U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich

But Kildee also opposed the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal that the Obama administration was trying to work out with Japan, Vietnam, Singapore and others. He and many other Democrats described past trade deals such as NAFTA as hurting workers in their home districts. So why the criticism of Trump and the efforts he has undertaken on trade?
Kildee said he would prefer a more deliberative approach and a multilateral approach that doesn't fray longstanding alliances.
"Simply engaging on the issue of trade doesn't mean he's doing it right," Kildee said.
The president's meetings with lawmakers in the past week and his trade advisers' visits to Capitol Hill are acknowledgements that many GOP lawmakers are worried about where Trump is headed — and what it could mean in the November election as farmers, bourbon makers and manufacturers who use imported steel and aluminum deal with the fallout.
A possible breakthrough with the European Union announced Wednesday at the White House appears to have eased their concerns and given the president more time to work out new deals.
"The fact the EU was here today and good talks happened, I think that points to there's proof it's working," said Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash. "That's not just wishful thinking. I think we can see that."

Randa Jarrar Cartoons

Bush-bashing Fresno State professor returns to Twitter, calls on 'white editors' to resign

The infamous California university professor who relished in the death of former first lady Barbara Bush is back at it again.
Randa Jarrar, an English professor at California State University, Fresno (aka Fresno State), tweeted this week that “white editors” must resign from positions of power, the Fresno Bee reported, citing CampusReform.org.
“We don’t have to wait for them to f--- up,” Jarrar allegedly wrote. “The fact that they hold these positions is f--- up enough.”
Jarrar’s Twitter account is set to private, but the tweet was captured in a screenshot by Campus Reform.
The tenured professor seemed to be reacting to a 14-line poem written by a “white male” published in the far-left magazine the Nation, the Washington Times reported.
Amid criticism, the poetry editors of the Nation dubbed the poem “ableist” and apologized for “the pain” they caused to “affected” communities.
In April, Jarrar drew public backlash for calling Barbara Bush an “amazing racist” who raised a “war criminal” – a reference to her son, President George W. Bush -- only an hour after the news of the former first lady's death was made public.
“[E]ither you are against these pieces of s--- and their genocidal ways or you’re part of the problem,” Jarrar said in a follow-up tweet. “I’m happy the witch is dead. can’t wait for the rest of her family to fall to their demise the way 1.5 million iraqis have.”
Jarrar merely gloated in the face of near-universal backlash -- which included threats by Fresno State donors to no longer support the university -- and boasted of her $100,000 annual salary.
“I work as a tenured professor,” she said. “I make 100K a year doing that. I will never be fired. I will always have people wanting to hear what I have to say.”
She also bashed farmers as being "f---ing stupid" supporters of President Donald Trump.
According to the Bee, Jarrar is scheduled to resume teaching at the university in the fall. In April, Fresno State's president decided that Jarrar's views were protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Pelosi describes 9/11 attacks as 'incident,' suggests GOP weaker on border than Democrats

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi described the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks as an “incident” during her weekly news conference on Thursday.  (Reuters)

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi described the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks as an “incident” during her weekly news conference Thursday.
The outlandish slip-up about the deadliest attack on U.S. soil came during a discussion in which Pelosi criticized the Trump administration’s stance on immigration and its claims that the Democrats have been weak on border security.
She claimed that Republicans are actually weaker on the issue than Democrats because they did not implement some of the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations that concerned border security enforcement and immigration.
“We have a responsibility to protect our borders. All of our borders. Let’s make no mistake about that. Democrats have been strong on that point. All of our borders,” Pelosi told the reporters.
“In fact, I said to some of you before, when we had the 9/11 incident and the commission was formed — and they made their recommendations — they made recommendations to protect America, but the Republicans would never take them up. And some of it was about our borders. The Republicans would never take them up,” she added.

"When we had the 9/11 incident and the commission was formed — and they made their recommendations — they made recommendations to protect America, but the Republicans would never take them up."
- House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi

The 9/11 terror attacks, perpetrated by Al-Qaeda terrorist group and its leader Usama bin Laden, killed around 3,000 people in what was the deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil in modern history.
Pelosi went on to say that only in 2006 – when Democrats overwhelmingly won the midterm elections amid dissatisfaction with wars in Afghanistan and Iraq – a border security measure was introduced.
“It took until we won in ‘06 — first bill on the floor, H.R. 1 — to enact the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission,” she said.
The top Democrat’s attempts to portray the Republicans as weak on immigration may hit the wall as her colleagues at the party are increasingly lurching leftward on the issue of immigration.
Some top mainstream Democrats, including U.S. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, are embracing the goal of abolishing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency over its role in deporting illegal immigrants.
Congressional Democrats are also opposed to Trump’s signature issue of the border wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, blocking any efforts in Congress to provide funding toward the project.

Remains of US war dead retrieved from North Korea, White House says

A soldier carries a casket containing what was believed to be the remains of a U.S. soldier who was killed in the Korean War, during a ceremony at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, July 27, 2018.  (Associated Press)

Fifty-five cases containing what were believed to be the remains of U.S. servicemen killed during the Korean War were returned Friday, the White House said.
The cases, each draped with the flag of the United Nations, arrived aboard a U.S. military plane at Osan Air Base outside Seoul, South Korea. Earlier, the plane and its crew had traveled to Wonsan, North Korea, to collect the remains, the White House said.
The transfer of the remains from the 1950-53 Korean War had been negotiated last month during a summit meeting in Singapore between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
President Donald Trump tweeted about the return of the remains late Thursday, as the transfer mission was getting underway.
"The Remains of American Servicemen will soon be leaving North Korea and heading to the United States! After so many years, this will be a great moment for so many families. Thank you to Kim Jong Un," the president wrote.
US ANTICIPATES NORTH KOREA WILL RETURN REMAINS OF 55 SERVICE MEMBERS, OFFICIAL SAYS
About 7,700 U.S. soldiers are listed as missing from the 1950-53 Korean War, and 5,300 of the remains are believed to still be in North Korea. The war killed millions, including 36,000 American soldiers.
Officials in North Korea had no comment on the handover on Friday, the 65th anniversary of the end of the Korean War, which the country celebrated as the day of "victory in the fatherland liberation war."
Earlier Thursday, the White House released a statement confirming details about the transfer of the remains.
"At their historic meeting in Singapore, President Donald J. Trump and Chairman Kim Jong Un took a bold first step to achieve the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, transform relations between the United States and North Korea, and establish enduring peace," the statement said. "Today, the Chairman is fulfilling part of the commitment he made to the President to return our fallen American service members. We are encouraged by North Koreas actions and the momentum for positive change."
NORTH KOREA IS SAID TO BE POISED TO RETURN BODIES OF SOME 50 US VETS SOON: REPORT
Among the other results from the highly anticipated meeting, the two leaders signed a document that said Pyongyang would work toward "complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."
A U.S. official previously told Fox News that the U.S. was expecting that the rogue regime would be sending back the remains Friday. However, the official said that nothing was set in stone until the U.S. plane leaves Wonsan with the remains.

Trump predicts a ‘terrific’ GDP report at US Steel plant

President Trump touted U.S. economic growth in a speech at a newly reopened U.S. Steel plant in the St. Louis-area town of Granite City, Ill.

Trump predicted a “terrific” outcome to Friday's report on U.S. gross domestic product (GDP).

“Big numbers announced tomorrow; I don’t know what they are, but I think they’re going to be terrific,” Trump said on Thursday.

White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow told FOX Business that when the Commerce Department releases second-quarter GDP data, he expects the number could exceed 4%.

"You're going to get a very good economic growth number tomorrow. Big," Kudlow said during an interview on “Varney & Co.” on Thursday.

More from FOX Business

The steady growth of the U.S. economy has been credited in part to the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Trump said an estimated two-thirds of American raw steel companies went out of business over the last two decades, eliminating more than one-third of all steel jobs. However, the impact of U.S. tariffs on imported steel and aluminum has been credited for the reopening of a steel plant in Granite City.

“After years of shutdowns and cutbacks, today the blast furnace here in Granite City is blazing bright, workers are back on the job, and we are once again pouring new American steel back into the spine of our country,” Trump said.

U.S. Steel, the nation's second-largest steel producer, may embark on a major expansion involving additional plants across the country, according to its president. Trump said the survival of steel in America is a matter of national security.

“We need steel mills for national security,” he said.

Hillary 2018 Cartoons

Tammy Bruce: America avoided a disaster -- Look at the Clintons and their pal Harvey Weinstein

FILE -- Former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and Harvey Weinstein as they arrive for the premiere of "Shakespeare in Love" in New York.  (Reuters)

A year and a half after the fact, we are seeing photographs of Hillary and Bill Clinton at a cozy dinner just weeks after her failed presidential campaign, with accused serial rapist Harvey Weinstein. Having powerful friends like the Clintons is a reminder of not only how someone as disgusting as Mr. Weinstein remained in power, but why people were afraid to act against him.
At the Clinton table at the very popular Rao’s restaurant in New York in early December 2016 were Hillary Clinton, former President Bill Clinton, Harvey Weinstein, his wife fashion designer Georgina Chapman, and Weinstein lawyer David Boies. The New York Times reported last year that the pals were discussing making a documentary about her loss to Donald Trump. The Daily Mail reported it received exclusive access to the never-before-seen photos of the Clintons with Mr. Weinstein.
This reminds people of the sort of individuals she has chosen to surround herself with. In the immediate aftermath of the 2016 loss, one would guess she’d have her closest friends with her, the people she could trust. And in early December, that apparently was Mr. Weinstein, with whom the Clintons had been friends for decades.
According to the New York Police Department, Mr. Weinstein is charged with rape, a criminal sex act, sexual abuse and sexual misconduct involving two women. More charges could follow.
It was less than a year after his best friend’s failure to gain the presidency and a mere 10 more months after that dinner at Rao’s, for the boom to be brought down on Mr. Weinstein.
Mrs. Clinton still insists she had no idea about Mr. Weinstein’s alleged actions, so her friends and supporters have two options when it comes to her decades-long friendship with the accused rapist: Either she was the only Friend of Harvey in both Hollywood and politics who didn’t know, which makes her unqualified to hold any public office; or she did know and didn’t care. Either way, this is a woman whose judgment was and remains compromised.
Some did try to warn her about the association. In one instance, the Daily Mail noted The New York Times had revealed “… Clinton’s campaign had been warned about the rumors swirling around about Weinstein. Actress Lena Dunham — one of Hillary’s biggest celebrity endorsers — emailed her campaign’s deputy communications director in 2016. The email stated: ‘I just want you to let you know that Harvey’s a rapist and this is going to come out at some point. I think it’s a really bad idea for him to host fund-raisers and be involved because it’s an open secret in Hollywood that he has a problem with sexual assault.’ “
Thus, the dinner photographs are a reminder about just how big a disaster America averted in 2016. If Mrs. Clintonhad prevailed in 2016, consider the individuals who would now have more power than they ever did before. Then contemplate the sort of Cabinet a President Hillary Clinton would have assembled. Eric Schneiderman, the disgraced former New York attorney general who resigned after the Ronan Farrow/New Yorker expose on multiple women accusing him of abuse, very easily would have expected to become U.S. attorney general.
And what could BFF Harvey Weinstein have expected? Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, of course. Mrs. Clinton’s election would likely mean the #MeToo movement never would have materialized. His close relationship with the Clintons would continue, and he would be a frequent visitor to the White House. Who could have stopped him then?
Certainly then-FBI Director James B. Comey would have to be rewarded. Director of National Intelligence? After all, even with his renewing the investigation into her email server, he declared she would not be prosecuted, taking Attorney General Loretta Lynch out of the picture, clearing the whole thing up. Mrs. Clinton was president and Mr. Comey’s action probably saved the election. That’s likely what they thought, and would tell themselves if she succeeded.
Now, let’s see … How does FBI Director Peter Strzok sound to you? Andrew McCabe and Lisa Page would have plum jobs reporting to their new boss at the bureau, no doubt. John Brennan would love being the National Security Adviser. James Clapper, head of Homeland Security? Of course. Not to mention Glenn Simpson, the head of Fusion GPS and source of the phony Russian dossier, as the White House director of communications?
And then there’s the Supreme Court of the United States. So many to choose from: Barack Obama. Eric Holder. Former Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren.
Everyone had the next eight years planned, imagining the Hillary Clinton presidency as their final act prior to amazing retirements and gigantic pensions, courtesy of the U.S. taxpayer.
Until Donald J. Trump. As you observe the continuing “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” know that it is from those who took too much for granted and held you in so much contempt. Like Hillary Clinton, those still trying to undermine the president simply refuse to take responsibility for their own failure, and be grateful every day that the American voter decided enough was enough.
This column originally appeared in The Washington Times.
Tammy Bruce, president of Independent Women’s Voice, is a radio talk-show host, New York Times best-selling author and Fox News political contributor.

House Republicans introduce articles of impeachment against Rosenstein

A group of 11 House Republicans introduced five articles of impeachment against Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein Wednesday evening.
The impeachment articles accuse Rosenstein of intentionally withholding documents and information from Congress, failure to comply with congressional subpoenas and abuse of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
It was not immediately clear whether the House of Representatives would consider the resolution before lawmakers begin the August recess Thursday afternoon. The House will reconvene Sept. 4.
The resolution states it will be "referred to the Committee," meaning the Judiciary Committee, for further review. That language suggests the full House will not immediately consider the articles of impeachment.
The articles were introduced by Reps. Mark Meadows of North Carolina and Jim Jordan of Ohio, the chairman and a prominent member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus.
In an exclusive interview on Fox News' "The Ingraham Angle" on Wednesday night, Meadows said it would be possible to effect a so-called "privileged" resolution on impeaching Rosenstein as early as Thursday morning, which would require a vote within two days -- although the impending House recess would likely delay that vote unless it were held quickly.
Both Meadows and Jordan told host Laura Ingraham the effort was long overdue.
"For nine months, we've asked for documents, and that's all we want," Meadows said. "Not only have subpoenas been ignored, but information has been hidden, efforts have been stonewalled."
"We've caught the Department of Justice hiding information, redacting information that they should not have redacted," Jordan charged, adding that Rosenstein had attempted to intimidate House staffers with subpoenas.

"We're tired of the Justice Department giving us the finger."
- Ohio GOP Rep. Jim Jordan

"We're tired of the Justice Department giving us the finger," Jordan added. "The American people are sick of it."
Jordan said he had not spoken to House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., about the impeachment articles, but said that "The American people are with us -- that's what matters."
But Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, tweeted that the articles "were filed in bad faith and show [the] extraordinary lengths to which House Republicans will go to protect [President] Trump."
And Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said the move was "partisan nonsense."
Schiff, joined by New York Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler and Maryland Democratic Rep.  Elijah Cummings, also issued a joint statement calling the impeachment articles a futile "direct attack on the Special Counsel’s investigation—full stop."
In one article of impeachment, Rosenstein is accused of improperly signing off on the FISA surveillance warrant application against ex-Trump aide Carter Page.
DOJ RELEASES FISA DOCS THAT FORMED BASIS FOR CARTER PAGE SURVEILLANCE
The application heavily relied on the infamous Steele Dossier, which was funded by the Clinton campaign and the DNC and contained unverified, salacious allegations against Trump.
"Under Mr. Rosenstein’s supervision, the Department of Justice and FBI intentionally obfuscated the fact the dossier was originally a political opposition research document before the FISC [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court]," the articles of impeachment state.
They continue: "As Deputy Attorney General, Mr. Rosenstein has failed in his responsibility for the proper authorization of searches under FISA, and his conduct related to the surveillance of American citizens working on the Trump campaign has permanently undermined both public and congressional confidence in significant counterintelligence program processes."
The documents also charge that Rosenstein has an impermissible conflict of interest.
“His conduct in authorizing the FISA surveillance at issue in the joint congressional investigation makes him a fact witness central to the ongoing investigation of potential FISA abuse,” the articles state. “Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein’s failure to recuse himself in light of this inherent conflict of interest and failure to recommend the appointment of a second Special Counsel constitute dereliction of duty."
Rosenstein named Special Counsel Robert Mueller to lead the Trump-Russia probe after Rosenstein’s boss, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, recused himself from the investigation because of Sessions’ own role in the Trump campaign.
WATCH: ROSENSTEIN, FBI DIRECTOR GRILLED BY HOUSE REPUBLICANS
He has since clashed with House Republicans for months over requests for Department of Justice documents. GOP leaders grilled Rosenstein at a hearing in June for what they called his inadequate transparency.
In recent weeks, calls by top Republicans to remove Rosenstein grew louder. A simple majority of the House would suffice to impeach Rosenstein, but a two-thirds vote of the Senate would be required to remove him.
The move came about two hours after GOP lawmakers met with Justice Department officials who have been working to provide documents to several congressional committees about decisions made during the 2016 presidential campaign. The department has provided lawmakers with more than 800,000 documents, but Meadows said after the meeting that there was still "frustration" with how Justice has handled the oversight requests.
It was not immediately clear whether the Republicans' move would affect the DOJ's document production to the House, which GOP leaders have been more pleased with in recent weeks.
House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., said after the meeting that he was pleased with the department's efforts and wouldn't support Rosenstein's impeachment. House Speaker Paul Ryan has also said he is satisfied with progress on the document production.

Michael Cohen secretly recorded conversation with CNN's Cuomo, telling him he paid Stormy 'on my own': report

Michael Cohen, President Trump's former lawyer, secretly recorded a conversation with CNN's Chris Cuomo and admitted in the tape to arranging—on his own—a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels in 2016, The Wall Street Journal reported late Wednesday, citing unnamed sources.
The recording—which is about two-hours long—included topics ranging from the alleged years-old Trump affair with the former porn star to the payment, the report said. The reported tape could potentially be used by the White House to distance Trump from the Daniels payment and damage Cohen’s character.
Cohen reportedly assured Cuomo that he was not taping their conversation, and put the phone in his desk drawer. The phone appears to record the whole conversation.
“I did it on my own,” Cohen said about the payment in the recording, according to the newspaper. Cohen previously said he “facilitated” the payment with his own money and called it a “private transaction.”

CNN reporter Chris Cuomo was caught in the epicenter of the controversy surrounding Michael Cohen's payment to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels.  (REUTERS)

Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani previously revealed that Trump reimbursed Cohen for the $130,000 payment through a monthly retainer, but insisted Trump wasn’t aware of the deal until much later.
The reported tape doesn’t indicate whether the payment to the adult-film actress was made to help Trump’s presidential campaign, the paper reported.
The report said it would be a campaign finance violation if Cohen made the payment to bolster the candidate’s chances of getting into office because it violates the election law by making in-kind contribution that exceeds the legal limit and was not disclosed to election regulators.
“It wasn’t for the campaign. It was for [Trump],” Cohen told Cuomo when asked if the payment could be understood as an in-kind contribution, The Journal reported.

"It wasn’t for the campaign. It was for [Trump]."
- Michael Cohen

In recent years, Cohen frequently appeared on Cuomo’s show. On Tuesday, the lawyer for Cohen, Lanny Davis, supplied Cuomo with an audio recording of Cohen’s conversation with Trump about purchasing the rights to former Playboy model Karen McDougal’s story of her 2006 affair with Trump.
Trump lashed out at his former attorney. “What kind of a lawyer would tape a client? So sad!” the president wrote in a tweet early Wednesday morning.
Giuliani, meanwhile, said it was “outrageous that an audio conversation between Trump and Cohen was leaked to the media. He also questioned why the recording, as aired on CNN, ended at a key part in the conversation, saying the tape would have been “exculpatory” from the point of view from the president had it not stopped.
The Trump-Cohen recording is among a dozen recordings the attorney made in matters relating to Trump, which were seized by Federal authorities in an April raid of his office. The investigators are looking into whether Cohen could be responsible for bank fraud or campaign finance violations over the payment to Daniels.
A former federal judge overseeing a review of materials seized in the sweep released the 12 audio recordings made by Cohen to federal investigators after Trump withdrew objections to the tapes. Cohen’s tape with Cuomo was among the released tapes and other tapes also feature recordings with other reporters.
Trump’s legal team declined to comment on the Cohen-Cuomo tape. “We can’t comment on a tape that hasn’t been released,” Giuliani told the newspaper.
“It was Michael Cohen’s habit for many years to record conversations in lieu of taking notes,” Davis said. “He had no intention of ever publicizing such tapes nor any intention to ever deceive anyone.”

Bomb explodes outside US Embassy in Beijing, suspect injured: report

An explosion was reported on Thursday outside the U.S. Embassy in Beijing's Chaoyang District.  (Associated Press)

A small bomb was detonated outside the U.S. Embassy compound in Beijing on Thursday, the embassy told The Wall Street Journal.
The bomber, a 26-year-old man identified only by his surname, Jiang, injured his hand when the homemade firework device exploded, Chinese police said in a statement. No one else was reported injured.
Police said Jiang was from the city of Tongliao in the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia.
An embassy spokesperson told the AP that Jiang was the only person involved, and that no embassy property had been damaged.
Officials have not released a motive for the incident as they continue their investigation.
Bystanders shared video of the aftermath on social media, showing images of smoke unfurling in the street and what appeared to be police vehicles surrounding the building in the city's Chaoyang District.
The blast occurred around 1 p.m. local time and could be heard from blocks away, The New York Times reported.
Witnesses told Reuters they felt tremors, and later saw police examining a vehicle outside the compound.
Neither the police nor the embassy have commented on a report by ruling Communist Party newspaper Global Times that said police "took away a woman spraying gasoline on herself in suspected attempt at self-immolation" at around 11 a.m.
China and the U.S. are in the middle of a trade dispute.

Lawyer Michael Cohen Cartoons

Trump-backed Brian Kemp defeats NRA-endorsed Casey Cagle in wild Georgia gubernatorial runoff

Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp has won a bruising Republican runoff in the state's race for governor, leveraging a damning secret audio recording of his opponent and a last-minute Trump-Pence endorsement.
With Tuesday's win against Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, Kemp faces Democrat Stacey Abrams. She could become the country's first black woman governor.

Secretary of State Brian Kemp, who secured Trump's endorsement, won in a primary runoff Tuesday against NRA-backed Lt. Gov Casey Cagle.  (AP)

The race will test Democrats' assertion that changing demographics have turned the Republican stronghold into a swing state. Cagle's campaign was rocked by a secret recording in which he says he helped pass a "bad public-policy" bill for political gain.
In another recording, Cagle allegedly offers to help pay off former gubernatorial candidate Clay Tippins' $300,000 in campaign debt in exchange for an endorsement.
“I’m well aware that we walked away from $300,000,” Tippins said. “It’s the best $300,000 we’ve ever walked away from."
Cagle denied the allegations, saying he never offered a bribe for any reason and saying he was tiring of "antics" in the race.
After conceding the GOP runoff to Kemp on Tuesday, Cagle told supporters that Kemp was "undeniably ready to lead this state." The praise was a swift reversal after a nine-week runoff that saw Cagle and Kemp attack each other on multiple fronts.
Gov. Nathan Deal and the National Rifle Association had supported Cagle. But Kemp was boosted by the president's endorsement.
Speaking to Fox News on Monday, Kemp called Trump's endorsement on Wednesday "huge," and compared it to "pouring gasoline on a fire."
Kemp, who has called himself a "politically incorrect conservative," made headlines in May for running an advertisement boasting that he has a pick-up truck "in case I need to round up criminal illegals."
WHO ARE KEMP AND CAGLE? A CLOSER LOOK AT THE CANDIDATES
And in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, Cagle acknowledged the significance of Trump's endorsement, but touted Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal's support for his candidacy.
"We have two gold-star endorsements: one is President Trump, and the other is Gov. Deal," Cagle said. "And Gov. Deal knows this state, and I have partnered with him to create the number-one state to do business in, the historic job numbers and the historic tax cut, as well."
Georgia, long a deep-red state whose changing demographics may make it a swing state in coming elections, went for Trump by less than six percentage points in 2016.
Georgia's potential evolution toward swing-state status comes at a critical time for Democrats. Gains in coastal and Sunbelt states — Virginia, North Carolina and potentially Arizona — could offset growing challenges for the party in the upper Midwest, where Trump shocked many Democrats in 2016 by sweeping a band of states that Hillary Clinton's campaign had considered a "blue wall."
"This is a light-red state," GOP pollster Mark Rountree said. "I don't think Georgia will be a national afterthought for either side anymore" regardless of what happens in November, Rountree adds.

Republican challenger pulls even with anti-Trump Democrat in solid-blue Oregon's governor's race: poll

Republican state Rep. Knute Buehler is waging a serious challenge to incumbent Democratic Gov. Kate Brown, with both candidates getting support from 45 percent of likely voters, the latest poll shows.  (Facebook)

If there's a "blue wave" coming in 2018, someone may have forgotten to tell Oregon's voters. A Republican challenger has pulled even with blue state Oregon's Democratic incumbent governor, according to a new poll.
The news comes as a surprise in a state that hasn’t seen a Republican governor since late 1980s, sparking fears of the end of Democratic Party’s total domination of the state.
The poll indicates that Republican state Rep. Knute Buehler is waging a serious challenge to Gov. Kate Brown, a vocal critic of President Trump, with both candidates getting support from 45 percent of likely voters, the Oregonian reported.

January 9, 2017: Oregon Gov. Kate Brown delivers her inaugural speech in the Capitol House chambers in Salem, Ore.  (AP)

Oregon is considered a solid blue state, with Democrats controlling both the state House and Senate, while Brown has been the governor since 2015.
The poll, conducted by Florida-based Gravis Marketing, invigorated the race overnight, though Democrats began questioning its validity.
“It's hard to understand how this is a reputable piece of public opinion research,” Brown’s campaign spokesman, Christian Gaston, told the Oregonian.

"It's a bit surprising to see a Democratic statewide candidate in Oregon have such weak numbers, but (Brown) does."
- John Horvick, DHM Research Vice President

But other pollsters in the state aren’t dismissing the poll showing the two candidates deadlocked in the race, saying Brown doesn’t have strong voter support.
“We've seen it pretty close, head-to-head, between Brown and Buehler,” John Horvick, vice president and political director of DHM Research in Portland, told the newspaper. "It's a bit surprising to see a Democratic statewide candidate in Oregon have such weak numbers, but (Brown) does.”
DHM Research’s previous poll in January indicated Brown was leading Buehler 46 percent to 29 percent.
The latest poll, showing Brown struggling against a Republican in a solid blue state, strikes at the core of Democrats’ messaging about the looming so-called “blue wave” in the upcoming midterm elections.
Buehler is running a campaign based strictly on statewide issues, avoiding any national politics distractions. His platform is moderate Republican, promising to “restore fiscal sanity” and not to impose new taxes, all while improving the state’s education system.
Brown, meanwhile, appears to stick to the Democratic Party’s efforts to gather support by pointing fingers at the White House in a bid to energize voters in a state where the overwhelming majority of voters supported Hillary Clinton for president in 2016.
Brown has since become a loud voice in national politics. She has repeatedly called out the Trump administration over issues of immigration and, more recently, criticized the selection of Judge Brett Kavanaugh as President Trump’s pick for the Supreme Court.
But attacks on Trump may not work against Buehler as he himself once condemned Trump. In 2015, before Trump became the Republican Party’s nominee for the president, Buehler called Trump “angry” and “self-absorbed” while urging voters to reject him in the state's GOP primary.
“For Republicans to win nationally and here in Oregon, we need a presidential nominee and GOP that is positive, inclusive and hopeful,” he said at the time.

Georgia lawmaker to resign after yelling racial slurs, dropping pants on Sacha Baron Cohen show

Rep. Jason Spencer announced his resignation Tuesday following backlash from his appearance in an episode of "Who Is America," starring Sacha Baron Cohen, on Sunday in which he dropped his pants and used racial slurs.  (Showtime via AP) 

 

A Georgia state lawmaker on Tuesday announced that he will resign just days after he appeared on an episode of Sacha Baron Cohen’s controversial new show, “Who is America?” in which he took off his pants and shouted racial slurs. 
Rep. Jason Spencer plans to step down from his post on July 31, the Georgia House speaker's office said.
Spencer faced backlash after he repeatedly yelled the N-Word and mimicked a Chinese tourist while taking a photo up the skirt of an actor pretending to be a Muslim woman during Sunday’s episode.
Cohen, who posed as an Israeli military expert, also had Spencer expose his backside in an exercise to ward off a potential terrorist, while shouting, “USA mother----r.”
Spencer is one of several public figures -- including Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin -- who claimed to have been duped into participating in the Showtime program.
Spencer previously said he was tricked into doing the show because of his “fears that I would be attacked by someone” and that “they exploited my state of mind for profit and notoriety.”
“This media company’s deceptive and fraudulent behavior is exactly why President Donald Trump was elected,” Spencer said in a statement to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, while threatening to take legal action if the “fraudulently obtained footage of me is used by these Hollywood liberals to line their own pockets.”
Several Republican colleagues called for Spencer’s resignation following his “appalling and offensive” conduct on the show.
“There is no excuse for this type of behavior, ever, and I am saddened and disgusted by it,” Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, a Republican, said in a tweet.
Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp, who is running for governor, removed Spencer from his campaign’s list of endorsements, he announced on social media.
“Rep. Spencer's words and behavior are hurtful, insensitive, and completely unacceptable. At the very least, he should issue a public apology for this shameful incident,” Kemp said in a statement.

Giuliani slams 'outrageous' Cohen-Trump tape leak, claims recording ends at key point

Rudy Giuliani, the personal attorney for President Trump, told Fox News on Tuesday that it is 'outrageous' that an audio conversation between Trump and his former lawyer Michael Cohen was leaked to the media and questioned why the recording ended at a key part in the conversation.
Giuliani told Laura Ingraham, host of “The Ingraham Angle,” that he found out the tape was leaked at 6 p.m. Tuesday. He said Trump's legal team listened numerous times to the tape and determined that the then-candidate told Cohen, “Don’t pay with cash.”
“Cohen then interrupts,” Giuliani said. “And says, “No, no, no, I got it.’ And then you hear — distinctly … if you’re careful and you slow (the tape) it down — ‘check.’ And then Cohen follows with ‘No, no, no,’ and then quickly cuts off the tape.”
Giuliani admitted that the audio was muffled, but said the rest of the recording -- had it not stopped -- would have been “exculpatory,” from the point of view from the president.
The former prosecutor said he spent about 4,000 hours listening to legal recordings in his career and he is confident that if the public listens to the tape three times, "it will become clear."
CNN on Tuesday played the secretly recorded audiotape from two months before the 2016 presidential election. The tape was provided to CNN by Cohen's attorney, Lanny Davis.
Davis, 72, was a special counsel to President Bill Clinton and regularly appeared on television to defend the Democrat during his 1998 impeachment.
Davis said he will not give another original copy to any other network. He gave one copy to CNN, to defend his client, whom he said was “falsely accused.”

“The president does bring up cash, but he said, ‘Don’t pay with cash.’”
- Rudy Giuliani

The conversation between Trump and Cohen came weeks after the National Enquirer's parent company reached a $150,000 deal to pay former Playboy model Karen McDougal for her story of a 2006 affair, which it never published, a tabloid practice known as "catch and kill."
Trump denies the affair ever happened and his campaign had said he knew nothing about the payment.
Trump and Cohen appear to be discussing buying the rights to McDougal's story from the Enquirer's parent company.
Cohen can be heard on the tape saying that he needed to start a company "for the transfer of all of that info regarding our friend David," a possible reference to David Pecker, Trump's friend and president of the National Enquirer's parent company, American Media Inc.
When Cohen begins to discuss financing, Trump interrupts him and asks, "What financing?"
"We'll have to pay," Cohen responded.
The audio is muffled, but Trump can be heard saying "pay with cash," though it isn't clear if he is suggesting to pay with cash or not to pay with cash.
“The president does bring up cash,” Giuliani said. “But he said, ‘Don’t pay with cash.’”
U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif, ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, posted on Twitter that the Cohen tape shows that Giuliani was "untruthful" when he said Trump didn't know about the payments. He said the move was "campaign motivated" and "regardless of cash or check, whole point of phony corp. was to hide campaign expenditure."

Russian Meddling Cartoons