|
|
|
Major Russia development -- How I imagine Attorney General Jeff Sessions looked when he turned on the news today: |
| Attorney General Jeff Sessions / Credit: Getty | |
|
Via The New York Times's Michael S. Schmidt, investigators for special counsel Robert Mueller's probe interviewed Attorney General Jeff Sessions last week. Why this is big: This is the first known Mueller interview with a member of President Trump's Cabinet. Keep in mind: Last March, Sessions recused himself from 2016 election matters. Why: His move came "after it was revealed that Mr. Sessions had not told Congress that he met twice with the Russian ambassador to the United States at the time, Sergey I. Kislyak, during the campaign." http://nyti.ms/2DuDnMT |
LAST NIGHT -- JUST GET A TEENAGE GIRL INVOLVED. YOU'LL FIND THOSE MISSING TEXTS IN NO TIME: |
Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced last night that the Justice Department will investigate missing text messages sent between two FBI agents critical of President Trump. Is this surprising? Not really. Many Republican lawmakers have been eager to recover the exchange. Why the GOP have been focused on this conversation: They believe it is evidence of FBI bias against Trump in the Russian investigation and probe into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's email server. http://bit.ly/2DAzdHr |
ANOTHER DEVELOPMENT -- IT'S A NO FROM ME: |
Via Axios's Jonathan Swan, FBI Director Christopher Wray threatened to resign after Attorney General Jeff Sessions pressured him to remove Deputy Director Andrew McCabe. Wray reportedly told Sessions that he would resign if McCabe was removed from his post. http://bit.ly/2rw4GVz |
SO FOR SOME CONTEXT -- TIMELINE: |
"1/17: Jeff Sessions interviews with Mueller. 1/18: House intel committee votes to share classified FISA memo with full House. 1/20: Sen. Johnson writes letter about 5 months of missing texts btw FBI officials. 1/22: Sessions vows to investigate missing texts. 1/23: Trump tweets about missing texts." (Via Politico's Kyle Cheney) http://bit.ly/2rxSEL7 |
OP-ED: |
Former Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) argues that Congress needs bipartisanship to fully investigate Russia's influence on the election. http://bit.ly/2E2aJ6M |
|
It's Tuesday -- Washington sure has calmed down since the government reopened. I'm Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what's coming up. Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@thehill.com, @CateMartel and on Facebook. |
|
To view the 12:30 Report online --> http://bit.ly/2G8a5p3 |
|
|
|
Kentucky high school shooting: |
One person is dead and multiple other people have been shot at Marshall County High School in Benton, Ky. A suspect is in custody. From student Greg Rodgers: "The suspect opened fire as students were heading to classes." What we know: http://nbcnews.to/2n4BRdn About Benton: "Benton is a city of about 4,300 in western Kentucky, about 120 miles northwest of Nashville, Tennessee." |
GOV. MATT BEVIN TWEETED: |
"Tragic shooting at Marshall County HS...Shooter is in custody, one confirmed fatality, multiple others wounded...Much yet unknown...Please do not speculate or spread hearsay...Let's let the first responders do their job and be grateful that they are there to do it for us..." http://bit.ly/2n3w7jS |
|
|
|
GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN WRAP UP: | |
|
You gotcha winnahs. And you gotcha losahs: |
Via The Hill's Niall Stanage, as the government prepares to reopen, here are the winners and losers of the first big congressional controversy of 2018: Winners: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Senate centrists, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and 2020 Democratic contenders. Losers: Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), the left and Dreamers. Mixed: President Trump Reasons for each: http://bit.ly/2E1Qia4 |
|
On the receiving end of the inevitable Trump shutdown tweet: |
Drum roll please -- CNN's Jim Acosta! President Trump mocked "Crazy Jim Acosta," saying even the correspondent from "Fake News CNN" agrees that Democrats "gambled and lost" over the government shutdown. "Thank you for your honesty Jim!" Trump tweeted, while apparently misquoting Acosta's report on the fallout from the shutdown. http://bit.ly/2Dwns0A |
|
|
|
Wait, so are you saying that falling asleep in work meetings is frowned upon...?: |
President Trump has reportedly harshly criticized Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross during a series of Oval Office meetings and has humiliated him in front of his colleagues. Oh and!: Wilbur Ross has apparently fallen asleep in meetings. A former senior administration official told Axios that Ross is "good until about 11 a.m." http://bit.ly/2n5tKhv |
THIS A.M. -- WILBUR? WILBUR ROSS?: |
Via The Washington Post's Danielle Paquette, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross was a no-show at his panel this morning during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. http://bit.ly/2rsD4QW |
^^SO IN JOHN DINGELL FASHION |
Former Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) retweeted the story, adding, "Somebody go wake him up." http://bit.ly/2DuPF7Q |
|
|
Lol, this is painful: |
|
|
Ok, this is cool: |
|
Livestream: http://bit.ly/2DCoBaU |
|
|
The Senate is in. The House is out for the week. President Trump is in Washington, D.C., and Vice President Pence is en route to D.C. from Israel. Today–Friday: The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. President Trump is scheduled to attend later in the week. Details and agenda: http://bit.ly/2n5u3sn 1:30 p.m. EST: President Trump signs Section 201 actions raising tariffs on imported solar panels. 12:45 a.m. EST Wednesday: Vice President Pence arrives in Washington, D.C. Wednesday: "Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue rolls out the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Bill." (h/t AP_planner) http://bit.ly/2Dto5aY A week from today: President Trump's State of the Union address. |
|
|
This morning: The Washington Post held an event on the media's role in modern democracies. Speakers included: Fox News' Bret Baier, The Poynter Institute's Indira Lakshmanan, The Knight Foundation's Jennifer Preston, Gallup's Frank Newport, the Center for Democracy and Technology's Nuala O'Connor, New York University's Jay Rosen and PBS's Judy Woodruff. Livestream: http://wapo.st/2G8QvZH 3:30 p.m. EST: White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders gives a press briefing. Friday: Former Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush speaks at an American Enterprise Institute event about the future of school choice. Livestream: http://bit.ly/2BlpfDI |
|
|
Today is National Pie Day! -- not to be confused with National Pi Day in March. http://bit.ly/2ryMtGD |
|
USA USA USA -- what a brilliant development: |
Via NBC Sports, the U.S. Olympic team will wear heated uniforms for the Opening Ceremony in Pyeongchang. I. Want. One. Photos: http://bit.ly/2DFvVSt |
|
Happy Restaurant Week!!: |
This week is Washington, D.C.'s Restaurant Week. That means many restaurants are offering 3-course brunch ($22), lunch ($22) and dinner ($35). List of restaurants: http://bit.ly/2kj6egC |
|
And because you made it this far, here's a kid dressed in a dog costume who's having a really bad day, but still insists on performing in the school play: http://bit.ly/2n3kdXi |