Tipsheet: Trump’s love-hate relationship with the press

View in your browser     Trump’s love-hate relationship with the press By Amie Parnes   President Trump is skipping the White House Correspondents' Association dinner on Saturday and for the second year in a row will instead appear at a political rally, this time in the swing state of Michigan.  The presidential snub underscores Trump’s terse and strained relationship with the media, and will once again lead to a split-screen on the cable news networks, highlighting the friction between the president and the press. Read the full story here     Religious tensions flare after chaplain's ouster By Scott Wong and Mike Lillis Speaker Paul Ryan’s removal of the House chaplain has ignited a firestorm on Capitol Hill and exposed deep religious fault lines among members of Congress. Catholics in both parties condemned Ryan’s ouster of Father Patrick Conroy, a Jesuit priest and the House’s spiritual leader since 2011. Read the full story here     Intelligence report defends Trump, draws attacks from Dems By Olivia Beavers The House Intelligence Committee on Friday released a GOP-authored, heavily redacted report that found no evidence of collusion between President Trump’s campaign and Russia. Read the full story here       EPA watchdog to investigate Pruitt’s condo rental from lobbyist By Timothy Mama and Miranda Green   The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) watchdog is investigating Administrator Scott Pruitt’s rental of a condo last summer from the wife of an energy lobbyist.  Read the full story here     Pruitt signs memo directing aides to scrutinize future big expenses By Timothy Cama Under intense scrutiny of his expenses, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief Scott Pruitt directed three senior officials to review any future expenditures made on his behalf that cost more than $5,000. Read the full story here     White House: No evidence Ronny Jackson crashed government vehicle By Max Greenwood An investigation did not uncover any evidence that President Trump's former nominee to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs drunkenly wrecked a government vehicle after a Secret Service party, White House officials said. Read the full story here     GOP report: Clapper told CNN host about Trump dossier in 2017 By Jonathan Easley The former director of national intelligence, James Clapper, has admitted to lawmakers that he discussed the "Steele dossier" about President Trump and Russia with a CNN journalist in early 2017, according to a report from Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee. Read the full story here     Meehan resigns with promise to pay back alleged sexual harassment claim By Melanie Zanona Rep. Patrick Meehan is resigning from Congress effective immediately, the Pennsylvania Republican announced Friday. He said in a statement that he plans to pay back the $39,000 he used from his office account to settle a claim against him. Read the full story here     Trump pick to lead CIA says she won't let agency restart interrogation program By Max Greenwood President Trump's pick to lead the CIA has been assuring senators in private that she will not allow the agency to restart a controversial detention and interrogation program, according to a congressional aide. Read the full story here     Judge tosses Manafort lawsuit challenging Mueller's authority By John Bowden A federal judge on Friday tossed out former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort's lawsuit challenging the scope of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Read the full story here     GOP Russia report serves Republicans for midterms By former Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) OPINION | The GOP’s House Intelligence Committee report acknowledging Russian meddling in our elections but no collusion by the Trump campaign is like any bad crime fiction. No stunners here, no twists of plot. This is a political document written by GOP lawmakers who fear losing a midterm election. Read the full story here     Stunning Korea denuclearization statement bodes well for America By Todd Rosenblum OPINION | The stunning Panmunjom Declaration announcement by the leaders of South Korea and North Korea is sweeping and potentially strongly in the American interest. The three-page declaration is quite vague and open to multiple interpretations, but the United States should use the most favorable interpretation going into the summit between President Trump and Kim Jong Un next month. Read the full story here     The Washington Post: At the U.S. border, a diminished migrant caravan readies for an unwelcoming reception By Nick Miroff  The American president, a former real estate mogul, does not want Byron Garcia in the United States. But the Honduran teenager was too busy building his own hotel empire this week to worry much about that. Read the full story here     The Wall Street Journal: Trump Displays Warmth for Merkel at White House Despite Differences By Michael C. Bender Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany described the Iranian nuclear deal as a “building block” and part of a “mosaic” needed to contain Tehran, becoming Friday the second major U.S. ally in a week to lobby President Donald Trump inside the White House about the merits of the pact. Read the full story here     The New York Times: Koreans Set the Table for a Deal That Trump Will Try to Close By David E. Sanger   Rush-hour in South Korea’s over-caffeinated capital runs at a frenzy — so it was remarkable to see commuters freeze Friday morning and fixate on giant Samsung television screens showing the scene unfolding in the Demilitarized Zone, where time stopped in 1953. Read the full story here     The Associated Press: Takeaways from Koreas summit: Kim’s smiles, Moon’s reception By Eric Talmadge   With the much anticipated summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in now ready for the history books, Kim’s foray into the world of globe-trotting diplomacy moves on to his next high-profile appointment — with President Donald Trump. Read the full story here     Reuters: North Korean media hails summit as Trump presses for full denuclearization By Josh Smith North Korea’s state news agency on Saturday called the inter-Korean summit a turning point for the Korean peninsula, while U.S. President Donald Trump said he would maintain sanctions pressure on Pyongyang ahead of his own unprecedented meeting with Kim Jong Un. Read the full story here         Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for The Hill Tipsheet       Forward this Tipsheet     You might like         Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2016 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.