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.
Condoleezza Rice’s advice to Trump: Leave the details of Kim negotiations ‘to people who understand all the nuance’
From Politico
Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has a message for President Donald Trump ahead of his planned summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un: Don’t sweat the details.
“Don’t try to negotiate the details with Kim Jong Un,” Rice told the hosts of “Fox & Friends” in a Tuesday interview. “Leave that to people who understand all the nuances of this situation.”
Nixon White House counsel: It could be obstruction if Trump team leaked Mueller questions
From The Hill
President Nixon’s White House counsel John Dean on Monday said that if the Trump administration leaked questions from special counsel Robert Mueller it could qualify as obstruction of justice.
The New York Times reported Monday that it obtained a list of nearly 50 questions Mueller would like to ask Trump as part of the investigation into Russian interference and possible collusion during the 2016 presidential campaign.
For more on this topic from The News Blender
Mueller’s Questions Revealed
Facebook says it will let users remove data from outside sites
From Axios
Facebook said Tuesday that in the coming months it would let users see and wipe the data fed into its ad targeting system by outside websites and applications.
Why it matters: Facebook is grappling with a data privacy reckoning after the Cambridge Analytica scandal focused a spotlight on its relations with external developers.
For more on this topic from The News Blender
Facebook, Demagoguery and Confusion
It was letter — a single character — that could cause an international incident.
The White House statement was apparently supposed to say “Iran had a robust, clandestine nuclear weapons program.”
Which is a lot different than what was actually sent out: “Iran HAS a robust, clandestine nuclear weapons program.”
GOP Senate hopeful Don Blankenship defends calling Mitch McConnell ‘cocaine Mitch’
From CNN
Don Blankenship, a Republican candidate for US Senate in West Virginia, is defending an ad his campaign released Monday in which he referred to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as “Cocaine Mitch.”
In a press release on Tuesday, Blankenship’s campaign claimed McConnell and his family have “extensive ties” to China before elaborating on the reasoning behind the ad.
Comey: Trump’s Bashing of FBI is Threatening U.S. Safety
From Mediaite
Former FBI Director James Comey says President Donald Trump‘s berating of the FBI isn’t just threatening its reputation; it’s threatening the country.
From CNN
A Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee said Tuesday that a reported Republican effort to impeach Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who supervises the special counsel probe, would send a “terrible message.”
“The President’s obviously growing more and more concerned about what ultimately will be his fate,” Rhode Island Rep. David Cicilline told CNN’s John Berman. “We should protect our democracy, protect this process, protect the rule of law. I’m very disappointed that they would even suggest that they were seriously considering removing Rod Rosenstein.”
