Trump assesses 2020 Dems; takes swipes at Biden, Sanders; dismisses Harris, O'Rourke; says he's rooting for Buttigieg

President Trump in a phone interview on “Hannity” Thursday talked about a handful of Democratic contenders for the 2020 presidential election, disparaging some of them, including former Vice President Joe Biden.
"I think we are calling him 'Sleepy Joe' 'cause I've known him for a while. Is he a pretty sleepy guy. He won't be able to deal with [Chinese] President Xi, I will tell you. That's a different level of energy and, frankly, intelligence. So I sort refer to him as 'Sleepy Joe.' A lot of people wanted me to change the word 'sleepy' to something else that rhymes with it," Trump told host Sean Hannity. "I thought it was too nasty.
"He's not going to be able to do the job," Trump added.
Biden officially announced his candidacy in a video Thursday morning, going directly after Trump.
"If we give Donald Trump eight years in the White House, he will forever and fundamentally alter the character of this nation, who we are, and I cannot stand by and watch that happen," Biden says in the video.
When asked about frontrunner Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Trump criticized his record, saying Sanders had "misguided energy" and asserting that Sanders "talks a lot" but hasn't accomplished anything.
The president didn't seem to think too much of the rest of the field, referring to former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke of Texas as "a fluke" and mentioning the lack of attention the former media darling has received recently.
"He is fading very fast, he is fading very, very fast. It looks like he will be a thing of the past very soon. He was a hot item," Trump said.
Trump outright dismissed Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, although he said he was "rooting" for Buttigieg.
"I don't see either of them. I think she has got a little bit of a nasty wit but that might be it. And Mayor Pete is not going to make it. I would hope he would. I'm rooting for him but he is not going to make it," Trump said.

Rosenstein slams Obama administration for choosing ‘not to publicize full story’ of Russia hacking

Rod Rosenstein, the U.S. deputy attorney general who supervised the Mueller investigation, spoke publically on Thursday for the first time since the report was released, taking a swipe at the Obama administration’s real-time reaction to Russian hacking and its decision "not publicize the full story" to the American people.
Rosenstein, who was speaking in New York at the Public Servants Dinner of the Armenian Bar Association, defended his handling of the probe and criticized former officials in the process. He called out former FBI Director James Comey for alerting Congress about the investigation into Russian collusion at the height of the 2016 presidential campaign.
“The FBI disclosed classified evidence about the investigation to ranking legislators and their staffers,” he said. “Someone selectively leaked details to the news media. The FBI director [Comey] announced at a congressional hearing that there was a counterintelligence investigation that might result in criminal charges. Then the former FBI director alleged that the president pressured him to close the investigation, and the president denied that the conversation occurred.
"So that happened,” he joked.
The Obama administration has been criticized for its handling of the Russian interference. Trump has blamed Obama for not acting quickly enough to stem Russia’s influence during the campaign.
In 2016, NBC News, citing unnamed high-level officials, reported that the Obama administration did not respond more forcefully because it did not want to appear to be interfering with the election. One official told the network at the time, "They thought [Hillary Clinton] was going to win, so they were willing to kick the can down the road."
A reporter for NPR said the Obama administration debated how to handle the information and decided that Obama should deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin privately about the matter.
The Rosenstein speech touched on a lot of topics.
He blasted “mercenary critics” who benefit financially by expressing “passionate opinions about any topic, often with little or no information. They do not just express disagreement. They launch ad hominem attacks unrestricted by truth or morality. They make threats, spread fake stories and even attack your relatives.”
Rosenstein has maintained a tenuous relationship with Trump. Congressional Republicans have also accused him of withholding documents and not investigating aggressively enough what they contend was political bias within the FBI.
Former FBI General Counsel James Baker, in closed-door testimony before congressional committees last October, provided detail about internal discussions concerning Rosenstein's reported offer to wear a wire to tape the president in the tumultuous days following James Comey’s firing as FBI director in May 2017.
Fox News has confirmed portions of the transcript to the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees.
"At my confirmation hearing in March 2017, a Republican senator asked me to make a commitment," he recalled. "He said: “You’re going to be in charge of this [Russia] investigation. I want you to look me in the eye and tell me that you’ll do it right, that you’ll take it to its conclusion and you’ll report [your results] to the American people.
"I did pledge to do it right and take it to the appropriate conclusion. I did not promise to report all results to the public, because grand jury investigations are ex parte proceedings. It is not our job to render conclusive factual findings. We just decide whether it is appropriate to file criminal charges."
Rosenstein is leaving his post in two months. He had some fun with his speech and answered the question that so many on social media were asking after watching him standing stoically behind Attorney General William Barr during the lead-up to the Mueller report release.
“Last week, the big topic of discussion was, ‘What were you thinking when you stood behind Bill Barr at that press conference, with a deadpan expression?’ The answer is: I was thinking, “My job is to stand here with a deadpan expression.’"
Fox News' Catherine Herridge and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Twitter CEO personally calls Omar to explain policy after Trump tweet: report

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey reportedly called Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) on Tuesday, the same day he met with President Trump at the White House, to explain to her why Twitter didn’t take down a tweet from the president that she said resulted in threats against her, the Washington Post reported.
Trump's tweet, posted April 12, showed a clip of Omar at a CAIR event, saying “some people did something” about the September 11 hijackers spliced with images of the Twin Towers burning. Omar’s sound bite was a short clip from a speech she made about CAIR’s response to Islamophobia after the attacks.
Omar reportedly asked Dorsey during the call why the company didn’t immediately remove the tweet. Dorsey said Trump hadn't violated Twitter’s terms, however, he did admit Twitter needed to do a better job in keeping harassing and hateful posts off the site, according to the Washington Post.
Twitter confirmed the call in a statement to the Washington Post. “During their conversation, [Dorsey] emphasized that death threats, incitement to violence, and hateful conduct are not allowed on Twitter,” it read in part. The statement also said the company has stayed in contact with Omar’s office.
Omar’s “some people did something” comment sparked its own controversy last month with some suggesting she was minimizing the tragedy that killed nearly 3,000 people.

Clinton-Ukraine collusion allegations 'big' and 'incredible,' will be reviewed, Trump says

President Trump told Fox News' "Hannity" in a wide-ranging interview Thursday night that Attorney General Bill Barr is handling the "incredible" and "big" new revelations that Ukrainian actors apparently leaked damaging information about then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort to help Hillary Clinton's campaign.
Last month, Ukraine Prosecutor General Yurii Lutsenko opened a probe into the so-called "black ledger" files that led to Manafort's abrupt departure from the Trump campaign. The investigation commenced after an unearthed audio recording showed that a senior Ukrainian anticorruption official apparently admitted to leaking Manafort's financial information in 2016 -- including his ties to pro-Russian actors in Ukraine -- to benefit Clinton.
Ukrainian law enforcement officials said earlier this month they have a slew of evidence of collusion and wrongdoing by Democrats, and that they have been trying to share this information with U.S. officials in the Justice Department. A Ukrainian court recently ruled that the Manafort leak amounted to illegal interference in the U.S. election.
Asked by host Sean Hannity whether Americans need to see the results of Ukraine's ongoing investigation into whether officials in that country worked with the Clinton team, Trump replied, "I think we do."

The leak of damaging financial information on former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort's links to pro-Russia actors in Ukraine led to his departure from the Trump team. Now, it's the subject of a Ukrainian probe into possible Clinton collusion. (AP)

"I would imagine [Barr] would want to see this. ... I would certainly defer to the attorney general, and we'll see what he says about it," Trump said. "He calls 'em straight."
Trump continued: "It sounds like big stuff, very interesting with Ukraine. I just spoke with the new president a while ago, and congratulated him. ... But that sounds like big, big stuff, and I'm not surprised."
With those remarks, Trump echoed his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, who wrote on Twitter on Wednesday: "Keep your eye on Ukraine."

A 2017 investigation by Politico found that Ukrainian officials not only publicly sought to undermine Trump by questioning his fitness for office, but also worked behind the scenes to secure a Clinton victory.
Among other initiatives, Politico found, the Ukrainian government worked with a DNC consultant to conduct opposition research against Trump, including going after Manafort for Russian ties, helping lead to his resignation.

"Really, it's a coup. It's spying."
— President Trump

The messages indicated they discussed using briefings to the Trump team after the 2016 election to identify people they could "develop for potential relationships," track lines of questioning and "assess" changes in "demeanor" – language one GOP lawmaker called “more evidence” of irregular conduct in the original Russia probe.
"They were trying to infiltrate the administration," Trump told host Sean Hannity. "Really, it's a coup. It's spying. It's hard to believe in this country we would have had that."

Trump continued: "I think it's far bigger than Watergate, I think it's possibly the biggest scandal in political history in this country, maybe beyond political."
Trump summed up the development as "very disconcerting" and emphasized that Strzok and Page used their government-issued phones not only to exchange numerous anti-Trump text messages but also to hide their extramarital affair from their spouses.

"They were going hog wild to find something about the administration, which obviously wasn't there," Trump charged, referring to Strzok and Page as "two beauties," "lovers," and "sick, sick people" who are "like children, when you look at them."  
"They're trying to infiltrate the White House, long after the election," Trump said. "This is a disgrace. Hopefully the attorney general will do what's right, and I believe he will. ... It's possibly the greatest scandal in the history of this country."

FBI Deputy Assistant Director Peter Strzok is seated to testify before the the House Committees on the Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform during a hearing on "Oversight of FBI and DOJ Actions Surrounding the 2016 Election," on Capitol Hill, Thursday, July 12, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

As for his widely mocked tweet that the Obama intelligence community had wiretapped Trump Tower -- which was followed months later by the revelation that the FBI had, in fact, monitored one of his former aides -- Trump said his remarks were the product of a "little bit of a hunch” and a “little bit of wisdom."
Trump additionally voiced little confidence in Robert Mueller, saying the special counsel was perhaps "best friends" with former FBI Director James Comey -- whose termination led to Mueller's appointment.
Trump also faulted Mueller for, in his view, needlessly wrecking the careers of many members of his team.
Trump asserted he had "turned down" Mueller to head the FBI, and that Mueller was "conflicted" not only "because of the fact that Comey and him are best friends," but also because Trump "had a nasty business transaction" with Mueller.

Without taking questions from reporters about the Mueller report, President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk to board Marine One for the short trip to Joint Base Andrews then on to his estate in Palm Beach, Fla., at the White House in Washington, Thursday, April 18, 2019. (Associated Press)

That was an apparent reference to an episode, referenced in Mueller's report, in which Mueller sought a refund -- apparently unsuccessfully -- from Trump after withdrawing from membership in his golf club.
But Trump said it was a "very good" sign that the New York Times acknowledged in a recent article that there were credibility problems in the discredited dossier that the FBI used to justify surveilling one of his campaign aides.
The Times finally joined a chorus of publications that have long cast doubt on the dossier's veracity, writing that the document "financed by Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee" was "likely to face new, possibly harsh scrutiny from multiple inquiries."
The article noted that British ex-spy Christopher Steele relied in part on Russian sources and that, ironically, the document could have been part of a "Russian disinformation" effort to smear Trump even as Moscow was going after Clinton.
The article, Trump said, suggested that dossier skepticism, once panned as denialism, has entered the mainstream -- now that Mueller's report found "some of the most sensational claims in the dossier appeared to be false, and others were impossible to prove."
As he did in his previous interview on "Hannity," Trump vowed to declassify and release not only the documents related to the surveillance warrants to surveil his campaign, and even more.
"Everything's going to be declassified, and more," Trump said. "It'll all be declassified."

"Everything's going to be declassified, and more. It'll all be declassified."
— President Trump

Responding to the entrance of Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential race, Trump emphasized the economic growth and health care successes for veterans under his administration, who "don't have to die waiting in line" anymore.
Biden attracted mockery on Thursday for insisting that he told former President Barack Obama not to endorse his run.
"I've known Joe over the years. He's not the brightest lightbulb in the group," Trump said. "But he has a name they know."

Joe Biden Cartoons

Rashida Tlaib’s removal from committees urged by Zionist Organization of America

One of America’s oldest Jewish organizations called Wednesday for U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., to be removed from congressional committees and from the Democratic Party.
In an editorial posted on its website, the Zionist Organization of America, which dates to 1897, pointed to what it described as Tlaib’s “anti-Israel record,” and accused the freshman congresswoman of associating with “terrorists, anti-Semites and conspiracy theorists.”
“Rashida Tlaib’s anti-Israel record was already well-known before she was elected in last year’s midterm elections,” the ZOA article asserts. “She calls Israel a ‘racist country’ on the basis of the lie that Israel discriminates against those ‘darker skinned,’ supports the destruction of Israel in favor of an Arab-dominated state (“It has to be one state”), ‘absolutely’ backs withholding U.S. aid from Israel, and openly supports the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which is committed to international ostracism and weakening of Israel with a view to its eventual elimination.”
The ZOA supports its assertions with links to news stories that quote the 42-year-old Palestinian-American lawmaker from Detroit.
The same article includes a list of people with whom Tlaib has been photographed, or about whom Tlaib has posted social media messages, and includes information about their alleged links to bombings or other crimes.
“It is perfectly clear that Rashida Tlaib is not in the smallest degree ashamed, and has not the slightest inhibition about, being publicly being associated with these anti-Semites, terrorists and glorifiers of Jew-murderers," ZOA National President Morton A. Klein and Chairman Mark Levenson said in a joint statement.
“The Democratic Party must do the only honorable thing," they continued, "which is to expel her from the party and remove her from Congressional committees."
Since taking office in January, Tlaib has been a lightning rod for criticism from Republicans as well as from members of her own party.
She quickly drew national attention just hours after being sworn in, when she used a profanity in calling for the impeachment of President Trump.
“We’re gonna go in there and we’re gonna impeach the motherf---er,'” she told a crowd of supporters, referring to Trump.
In March, Tlaib denounced anti-Semitism in an interview with the Detroit News.
"I’m always pushing back against it," Tlaib said of anti-Semitism. "But this is going to continue happening because I’m Palestinian."
She claimed that an important distinction needed to be made between anti-Semitism and her criticisms of the policies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"When I criticize Netanyahu’s discrimination, inequality, human rights violations, saying you have to do better and we have to look at real equality and even desegregating certain communities," Tlaib told the News, "that, to me, does not make me charging toward the Jewish faith at all. And I'm very conscientious of that."
In April, Tlaib quickly came to the defense of another progressive Democrat, Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, after Omar referred to the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, as “some people did something.”
Tlaib claimed that critics had taken Omar’s words out of context.
“My sister Ilhan Omar, what she was talking about, was uplifting people by supporting their civil liberties and civil rights,” Tlaib said in a television interview. “She has always, always condemned any strategy, especially of a person directly impacted by being a refugee herself.”
More recently, Tlaib asked her supporters last week to join her in a hunger strike in protest of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), arguing that the federal agency that enforces U.S. immigration laws should be shut down.

Biden's Senate records held by his alma mater won't be released until late 2019, possibly even later

The public is being denied access to about 2,000 boxes of records from Joe Biden’s Senate career -- information that spans more than three decades.
The University of Delaware, where the Biden archive is stored, says the records might not be available until late 2019, possibly even later.
The news comes as the former vice president is set to announce his candidacy for president on Thursday morning, joining a crowded Democratic primary field where he’s going to immediately stand out. The latest polls already put him on par with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., another leading 2020 candidate.
The delay in access to Biden's records -- coinciding with new scrutiny he is facing over behavior toward women -- results from the conditions of his donation to the University of Delaware.
“The Biden senatorial papers are indeed still closed, pending completion of processing (still underway) and as per our agreement with the donor, which is that the papers would remain closed until the later date of 12/31/2019 or two years after the donor retires [from] public service,” L. Rebecca Johnson Melvin, head of the university library's archives department, told HuffPost.

“The Biden senatorial papers are indeed still closed, pending completion of processing (still underway) and as per our agreement with the donor, which is that the papers would remain closed until the later date of 12/31/2019 or two years after the donor retires [from] public service.”
— L. Rebecca Johnson Melvin, University of Delaware library official

She added that it remains to be seen whether the records will be released even after the December 2019 deadline.
Biden voluntarily donated the records to his former school back in 2011, initially setting out the following condition for their release to the public: “no sooner than two years after [Biden] retires from any public office.”
But an updated agreement with the university was somewhat amended after he left office in 2017, reflecting Biden’s growing political ambitions. The records will now be sealed until at least the end of the year or even further, as the university library official confirmed.
The library is reportedly holding about 1,850 boxes of archival records and “extensive electronic records” from Biden’s time in the Senate.

Bernie Sanders visibly frustrated as hecklers unload at She The People Forum for women of color

2020 presidential contender Bernie Sanders faced an aggressive and, at times, outwardly combative audience at the She The People Forum devoted to women of color in Houston on Wednesday, as the self-described democratic socialist struggled to convince attendees of his commitment to minority and underprivileged communities.
The tense moments underscored the challenges Sanders' campaign still faces despite its frontrunner status. The 77-year-old Vermont senator, long a champion for progressive causes, has sought to win over voters who turned out in massive numbers to support former President Barack Obama.
In a particularly striking moment, host Aimee Allison asked Sanders what he would do to fight white-supremacist violence. In response, Sanders launched into a familiar anecdote that -- perhaps precisely because of its familiarity -- seemed to crash and burn.
"I know I date myself a little bit here, but I actually was at the March on Washington with Dr. [Martin Luther] King back in 1963," Sanders began, as audible groans and jeers broke out at the auditorium at Texas Southern University. One person apparently shouted, "We know!"
"And," Sanders continued, as he held his hand up to quiet the crowd and apparently to wag his finger, "as somebody who actively supported Jesse Jackson's campaign, as one of the few white elected officials to do so in '88, I have dedicated my life to the fight against racism, and sexism, and discrimination of all forms."
Sanders faced similar backlash when he responded to an audience question about white supremacy by discussing immigration and the federal minimum wage, as well as his sweeping "Medicare for All" proposal. The audience loudly applauded when Allison reminded Sanders that the "core of the question" concerned violence against minorities.
Separately, co-host Joy Reid asked Sanders how he would win over Hillary Clinton voters, including black women in particular. In response, Sanders trashed Trump as "the most dangerous president" in modern history, and generally called for unity among Democrats as well as "social justice, racial justice, and environmental justice."
That response immediately drew more hecklers, as Reid pressed, "Yeah, and for black women specifically?"
"I'm sorry?" Sanders asked, as the jeers became louder. "For black women specifically," Reid reiterated.
Sanders responded: "Black women will be an integral part of what our campaign, and what our administration is about. Okay? And that means --"
The audience erupted with heckling for a few seconds, as Sanders tossed his arm up in the air in dismay and muttered, "Okay."
"Were you finished with your --," Allison asked when the crowd quieted.
"Yeah," Sanders replied.
Seven other 2020 Democrats spoke at the first-ever She The People forum on Wednesday, including Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Beto O'Rourke, Julian Castro, Tulsi Gabbard and Amy Klobuchar.
Some used the event to make news and largely avoided audience attacks. Booker, for example, definitively declared that his running mate will be a woman.
But, the road was rocky for others. Gabbard, a Hawaii congresswoman, also faced some heat from the crowd during her own remarks.
"There are a lot of bad people in the world," Gabbard began at one point.
Then came the reply from a heckler: "You’re one of them!”
Fox News' Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.