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Mornings on the Mall

Monday, July 24, 2017

Hosts: Mary Walter and Vince Coglianese

5am – A Mueller Update

• Special counsel Robert Mueller has asked the White House to preserve all documents relating to the June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower that Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort had with a Russian lawyer and others, according to a source who has seen the letter.
• U.S. investigators examining money laundering accusations against President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort hope to push him to cooperate with their probe into possible collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia, two sources with direct knowledge of the investigation said.
• President Donald Trump’s eldest son and his former campaign chairman won’t testify publicly next week and are instead discussing being privately interviewed by a Senate committee investigating Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election, the panel said.
• Justice Department going backwards on civil forfeiture? Sen. Rand Paul slams asset forfeiture as ‘unconstitutional’

5am – B Healthcare Update McConnell has resorted to a plan C: bringing to the floor an anti-ACA bill passed by the House this spring and allowing senators a sort of free-for-all for substituting in either of the Senate measures or new iterations. “We are still on track… to have a vote early this week,” a McConnell spokesman said on Sunday. “The Senate will consider all types of proposals, Republican and Democrat.”

5am – C Berkeley Update (FIRE) The University of California, Berkeley has confirmed to FIRE it will host an on-campus event sponsored by the Berkeley College Republicans featuring conservative commentator Ben Shapiro on September 14 at 7 p.m. — even if the university has to foot the bill.

5am – D/E Colleges Phasing out Algebra (NPR) Algebra is one of the biggest hurdles to getting a high school or college degree — particularly for students of color and first-generation undergrads. It is also the single most failed course in community colleges across the country. So if you’re not a STEM major (science, technology, engineering, math), why even study algebra?

6am – A/B/C    Spicer out, Scaramucci in; will he be better?

• White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer resigns, leaving in August
• Sarah Huckabee Sanders will be the new Press Secretary
• Anthony Scaramucci in as new Communications Director

6am – D Woman convicted of killing husband in murder apparently witnessed by parrot (ABC 7 NY) A jury has convicted a western Michigan woman of first-degree murder in the shooting death of her husband in a crime apparently witnessed by the man’s pet parrot. The Newaygo County jury deliberated about eight hours before finding 49-year-old Glenna Duram guilty Wednesday of killing 46-year-old Martin Duram. He was shot five times in May 2015. Glenna Duram suffered a head wound in what prosecutors said was a suicide attempt, but survived. Martin Duram’s ex-wife, Christina Keller, has said that after the slaying, the pet parrot, Bud, repeated “don’t (expletive) shoot” in Martin Duram’s voice. Keller took ownership of the bird after Martin Duram’s death.

6am – E Beyoncé Statue at Madame Tussauds Is ‘Adjusted’ After Critics Says She’s Too White (New York Times) Beyoncé took a quick break from the public eye — but now, she’s back. Not the real Beyoncé, who seems to be lying low since the birth of her twins, Sir Carter and Rumi, who appeared in a photo on her Instagram page last week. This is about a Beyoncé made of wax that is on display at the Midtown Manhattan location of Madame Tussauds, the wax statue museum known for its celebrity likenesses, with locations around the world. On Thursday afternoon, the statue was absent from the display floor. But it lived on on social media, where a photograph of the figure drew criticism from far and wide this week. The problem? Not only did the figure not resemble the chart-topping pop star, critics said, but it also appeared to be too light-skinned. A chorus of comments on social media compared the statue with celebrities like Taylor Swift, Lindsay Lohan and Julia Stiles.

6am – F Jim Vance, Washington’s longest-serving local news anchor, is dead at 75 (The Washington Post) In a city of news junkies and scores of high-profile figures in politics and the media, the most-watched journalist in Washington may well have been Jim Vance. For more than 45 years at WRC-TV (Channel 4), he was the region’s longest-serving television news anchor. He presided over the area’s top-rated newscasts and became a public figure in his own right. He gained broad sympathy for his openness about his struggles with drugs and depression. Mr. Vance, who was 75, died July 22. The death was announced by WRC-TV, where he had worked since 1969, but no further details were provided. He announced his diagnosis of cancer earlier this year.

7am – A INTERVIEW – JOE DIGENOVA – legal analyst and former US Attorney to the District of Columbia

TOPIC: Mueller / Russia investigation

• Special counsel Robert Mueller has asked the White House to preserve all documents relating to the June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower that Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort had with a Russian lawyer and others, according to a source who has seen the letter.
• U.S. investigators examining money laundering accusations against President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort hope to push him to cooperate with their probe into possible collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia, two sources with direct knowledge of the investigation said.
• President Donald Trump’s eldest son and his former campaign chairman won’t testify publicly next week and are instead discussing being privately interviewed by a Senate committee investigating Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election, the panel said.
• Justice Department going backwards on civil forfeiture? Sen. Rand Paul slams asset forfeiture as ‘unconstitutional’

7am – B/C INTERVIEW – CHRISSY NIZER – Administrator, Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration

TOPIC: Maryland testing new digital driver’s license system that would bring your ID to your smartphone

• What inspired Maryland deciding to create a pilot program for digital driver’s licenses?
• When can people get digital driver’s licenses? Can anyone get one?
• Have other states done digital driver’s licenses?
• Why does MD want digital driver’s licenses? Will they one day replace physical licenses?
• Does MD worry about people creating fake digital licenses?

7am – D Spicer out, Scaramucci in

• White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer resigns, leaving in August
• Sarah Huckabee Sanders will be the new Press Secretary
• Anthony Scaramucci in as new Communications Director

7am – E Chuck Schumer: It’s “our fault” that voters don’t know what Democrats stand for (Washington Examiner) Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is trying to reboot the Democratic brand and urged the party to “look in the mirror” and focus on an economic agenda in the weeks ahead. Schumer told ABC’s “This Week” Democrats will be rolling out a new economic platform this week – titled “A Better Deal” – aimed at “working voters,” including those who spurned the party for President Trump in November. It is, in part, our fault,” that voters don’t know what Democrats stand for, Schumer said. “When you lose an election with someone who has, say, 40 percent popularity, you look in the mirror and say, ‘what did you do wrong,’ and the No. 1 thing we did wrong is we didn’t tell people what we stood for. Even today, as your polls show, they know we’re standing up to Trump. They like that, but they want to know, ‘what do you stand for.'” I don’t know why it didn’t happen in the campaign. We all take blame, not any one person,” Schumer said.

8am – A INTERVIEW – DAN ALBAN – Attorney, Institute for Justice

TOPIC: Sessions, civil asset forfeiture

• Why is the Justice Department going backwards on civil asset forfeiture?

• Sen. Rand Paul slams asset forfeiture as ‘unconstitutional’ (Daily Caller) – Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) tweeted out Thursday morning criticizing Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ decision to revive the federal civil asset forfeiture program, calling it “unconstitutional.”

8am – B/C INTERVIEW – JOE CONCHA – Media Reporter, The Hill

TOPIC: White House press shop changes

• White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer resigns, leaving in August
• Sarah Huckabee Sanders will be the new Press Secretary
• Anthony Scaramucci in as new Communications Director

8am – D INTERVIEW – LAURA VOZZELLA – Virginia Politics Beat Reporter, The Washington Post

TOPIC: VA gubernatorial debate?

• Republican Ed Gillespie and Democrat Ralph Northam staked out sharply different positions on immigration, health care, Virginia’s economy and President Trump on Saturday in their first debate since winning their respective party primaries for governor on June 13
• Their differences started with Trump. Northam, Virginia’s lieutenant governor and a pediatrician, said he had no regrets about a TV ad in which he called the president a “narcissistic maniac.”
• Gillespie and Northam are vying to succeed Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), who is prohibited by the state constitution from serving consecutive terms.

8am – E Lana Del Ray confirms she attempted witchcraft on Trump (NME) Lana Del Rey has confirmed that she attempted to place a hex on US President Donald Trump. The singer sparked speculation that she was attempting to use witchcraft to get rid of Trump earlier this year, when she asked her Twitter followers to gather mysterious ‘ingredients’. Now, she has confirmed it in a new interview with NME when quizzed about her love of the occult. “Yeah, I did it. Why not? Look, I do a lot of s**t,” she replied.