News from the note…
A round up of the day’s news that might be of interest to you.
Consider this an OPEN THREAD, folks. Chat about any of the stories listed, share links to stories that caught your eye today, and generally have a good time discussing whatever you want.
Dem lawmaker looking into whether Ryan violated House rules by forcing out chaplain
From The Hill
A Democratic Ohio lawmaker is looking into whether Speaker Paul Ryan(R-Wis.) violated House procedure when he sought the resignation of House Chaplain Patrick Conroy.
Rep. Marcy Kaptur told Roll Call that she believes a House vote is necessary to remove a chaplain, as the position is considered an “officer of the House.”
Trump Jr. And Emin Agalarov Stayed In Touch Throughout The Transition
From BuzzFeed
From phone calls and text messages to “an expensive painting” that Aras Agalarov gave Donald Trump for his birthday in 2016, the two families were in regular communication before and after the Trump Tower meeting — and during the transition.
The cost of Donald Trump’s deserted government
From Politico
Job vacancies are fast becoming a singular threat to President Donald Trump’s administration, with a record number of openings that stretch from low-level appointments to the secretary’s office at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
While civil servants have stepped up to fill gaps, their power and influence is limited — and many senior career government workers have quit or retired since Trump took office, taking institutional knowledge with them.
Was Jeff Sessions Aware of a Proposed Trump-Putin Back Channel?
From RollingStone
Democrats have published a response to the House Intelligence Committee report on the Trump/Russia nexus, released Friday by the committee’s Republican majority. The minority report offers new details – and unanswered questions – about the role of the NRA as a conduit between Russia and the Trump campaign, raising fresh questions about then-Senator Jeff Sessions’ knowledge of Russian outreach.
A Saturday Bonus Note from the “Who the heck is right?” category
A discussion between CNN’s Chris Cillizza, CNN Editor-at-large, and Heidi Kitrosser, a law professor at the University of Minnesota Law School, in which Comey’s role as a leaker/ liar and Donald Trump’s criticism of him is unpacked. Interesting read if you are trying to be somewhat open minded about Comey’s current role in the spotlight and figure out who is in the right.
Donald Trump’s ‘self serving’ strategy on leaks
All right… enough politics for an April Saturday.
What did you all do today? Something interesting, I hope!
Anybody else seeing Avengers this weekend? That is where I am right now, so have fun without me!
