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.
Bolton sidelined as Trump readies for North Korea
From CNN
As President Donald Trump huddled in the Oval Office on Friday with Kim Jong Un’s right-hand man, he was accompanied by only one other US official: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Absent was the administration’s most vocal North Korea hawk, national security adviser John Bolton.
The White House insists the meeting was always intended to remain small. But the tableau reflected deeper rifts among Trump’s national security team and a new reality as the President prepares for his historic meeting with Kim next week in Singapore: the voices advocating most forcefully to tighten the noose on Pyongyang have been sidelined as Trump seeks out a history-making handshake.
Corker set to unveil bill reining in Trump’s tariff powers
From Politico
Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) expects to propose legislation as soon as Tuesday that would give Congress power to block President Donald Trump’s tariffs, opening a GOP rift over how and whether to push back on the White House’s trade policy.
Corker first revealed his plans to try to rein in Trump’s tariffs on Saturday, tweeting that the White House’s planned penalties on steel and aluminum imports from Mexico, Canada and the European Union “feel like something I could have read in a local Caracas newspaper last week, not in America.”
The effort is picking up steam as Corker attempts to get a vote on the proposal during this month’s Senate’s floor debate on the annual defense authorization bill. It’s a long shot given skepticism from Republican leadership, but still a critical test of the GOP’s willingness to take on Trump.
Fox News apologizes for implying Eagles players knelt during national anthem
From The Hill
Fox News apologized Tuesday for a segment that implied Philadelphia Eagles players were protesting the national anthem when they were actually kneeling in prayer prior to games.
“During our report about President Trump cancelling the Philadelphia Eagles trip to the White House to celebrate their Super Bowl win, we showed unrelated footage of players kneeling in prayer,” Christopher Wallace, executive producer of “Fox News @ Night” with Shannon Bream, said in a statement.
“To clarify, no members of the team knelt in protest during the national anthem throughout regular or post-season last year. We apologize for the error,” he added.
Sessions defends separating families at the border
From Politico
Attorney General Jeff Sessions Tuesday defended the increase in family separations expected to result from a new Trump administration strategy to prosecute all people suspected of crossing the border illegally.
“We believe every person that enters the country illegally like that should be prosecuted,” Sessions told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, according to a transcript of the interview. “And you can’t be giving immunity to people who bring children with them recklessly and improperly and illegally.”
David Hogg gets ‘swatted’
From Washington Examiner
Parkland gun control advocate David Hogg’s home in Florida was “swatted” Tuesday morning, when someone made an emergency call that prompted police to show up at his house, according to a local ABC affiliate.
Hogg, who became a student advocate after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February, was not at his home at the time police responded to the scene. Instead, he was in Washington, D.C., with his mother to accept the RFK Human Rights award.
Broward County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Gina Carter told USA Today a 911 call came in at 8:39 a.m. about someone at the home with a weapon.
Alex van der Zwaan, only person to serve time in Mueller investigation, deported
From CNN
The first person to serve jail time for a charge brought by special counsel Robert Mueller in the Russia investigation was deported and arrived in the Netherlands Tuesday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials told CNN.
Alex van der Zwaan was turned over to Dutch authorities, the officials added, a day after he was released from a low-security federal prison in Allenwood, Pennsylvania, after serving 30 days. He also was ordered to pay a $20,000 fine.
Van der Zwaan, a 33-year-old lawyer formerly with international law firm Skadden Arps, pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about his interactions and records of communication with top Trump campaign official Rick Gates and a person with ties to a Russian intelligence service during the 2016 presidential campaign. Van der Zwaan had worked with Gates and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort as they attempted to spin a report on Ukrainian politicians done by the law firm.
White House cancels NFL Eagles ceremony, criticizes team
From AP
President Donald Trump abruptly canceled his Tuesday ceremony celebrating the Philadelphia Eagles’ Super Bowl victory after many players declined to show up. The White House accused the players of abandoning their fans, and Trump quickly scheduled a “Celebration of America” with military bands as he stoked fresh controversy over players who protest racial injustice by taking a knee during the national anthem.
Fuming over the risk of a low Eagles’ turnout, Trump late Monday announced the usual Super Bowl celebration was off.
Judge Tells Trump to Submit to Deposition in Sexual-Harassment Suit
From New York Mag
In one of many battles that lawyers for the president of the United States are waging with the U.S. legal system, they’ve just suffered a setback. Acting New York Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Schechter ruled that the president must submit to a deposition in a defamation case filed by Summer Zervos, one of the assortment of women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct.
