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.
Kudlow could be back ‘within a week’ after heart attack, friend says
From Politico
Larry Kudlow, the top White House economic adviser who suffered a mild heart attack on Monday, could be back on the job within a week, according to one of his close friends.
Stephen Moore, the conservative Heritage Foundation economist who worked with Kudlow on Trump’s campaign tax plan, said he expected the National Economic Council director to return to the chaotic administration in a matter of days.
“I think it’s highly likely that he’ll be back on the job in a week or so, though he’ll certainly have to change his lifestyle a little bit,” Moore said in an interview.
Ex-GOP lawmaker: No president has ever praised a dictator the way Trump has with Kim
From The Hill
Ex-GOP lawmaker David Jolly said Tuesday that no U.S. president has ever hailed a dictator the way President Trump is complimenting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
“For the record of history, never before has a U.S. President spoken this way of a dictator accused of crimes against his own people,” former Rep. David Jolly (R-Fla.), a frequent critic of the president, wrote on Twitter.
Trump heaped praise on Kim Tuesday as he met with the North Korean premier in Singapore for a historic summit that followed decades of tensions between Washington and Pyongyang.
Judge orders Mueller to identify unnamed figures in Manafort indictment
From Politico
A federal judge has ordered special counsel Robert Mueller to identify by Friday all the individuals and organizations involved in former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort’s alleged scheme to lobby on behalf of Ukraine without registering as a foreign agent under U.S. law.
Among the people Mueller will be required to identify to the defense are top European former politicians who took part in the influence campaign, as well as others whose testimony Manafort has been accused of trying to influence in recent months. Manafort’s alleged effort to shape the accounts of those people led to two new felony obstruction of justice charges last week.
Avenatti: Russian government is trying to smear me
From The Hill
The lawyer for adult film star Stormy Daniels claims in a new interview that agents of the Russian government are attempting to plant false stories about him in U.S. news outlets.
In an interview with The Daily Beast, Michael Avenatti said that two sources in the news media and a high-ranking U.S. intelligence official told him of an ongoing effort to plant damaging stories about him.
“They were trying to claim that I, too, had taken a trip to Moscow… I’ve never been to Moscow in my life, I’ve never traveled to Russia in my life,” Avenatti said Tuesday, adding that the alleged Russian agents “suggested that I had had a liaison with multiple women in Russia.”
“I found that to be rather ironic,” he said.
“They’re doing it because they see me as a threat, a considerable threat,” Avenatti added. “If we weren’t a threat, none of this would be happening.”
George H.W. Bush becomes 1st US president to turn 94
From AP
George H.W. Bush enjoyed a relaxing birthday on Tuesday as he became the first former U.S. president to turn 94.
The nation’s 41st president was receiving calls and taking it easy at his seaside home eight days after being released from a hospital where he was treated for low blood pressure, said Chief of Staff Jean Becker.
Several of his children were in town, including former President George W. Bush. Another son, Neil Bush, called on people in a newspaper opinion piece to volunteer and “to become a point of light.”
Kellyanne Conway’s husband defends Mueller’s investigation
From CNN
George Conway, the husband of counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway, embraced a position on Monday that he’s slyly promoted on Twitter for weeks — his support for Robert Mueller’s legal authority in the Russia investigation.
Conway defended Mueller’s ongoing investigation as constitutional in a column he published Monday on the national security and legal blog Lawfare. Its title: “The Terrible Arguments Against the Constitutionality of the Mueller Investigation.”
Trump campaign manager repeats call for Acosta’s credentials be suspended: ‘An absolute disgrace’
From The Hill
President Trump‘s 2020 campaign manager is repeating his call for Jim Acosta’s press credentials to be suspended, saying CNN’s chief White House correspondent is “an absolute disgrace” for interrupting a signing ceremony during the summit between President Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un.
“Jim @Acosta should immediately have his press credentials suspended. He is an absolute disgrace!” wrote Brad Parscale to his 100,000 Twitter followers on Tuesday afternoon.
Court doc: Rand Paul’s neighbor ‘lost his temper’ over yard debris
From The Hill
Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-Ky.) neighbor “lost his temper” over yard debris that the senator placed near the line between their two properties when he tackled Paul last year, according to court documents.
A sentencing memorandum filed Friday by the attorney for Paul’s neighbor, Rene Boucher, and obtained by the Bowling Green Daily News states that Boucher grew upset after Paul repeatedly placed “unsightly” debris near his residence.
Paul suffered six broken ribs after being tackled by Boucher last November. The neighbor pleaded guilty to assaulting a member of Congress earlier this year and is set to be sentenced on Friday.
