WHITE HOUSE & ADMINISTRATION: The rip-roaring debate about Trump's avowed constitutional say-so to pardon himself as well as call off Justice Department investigations continued Monday with, what else, POTUS tweets. 
© Twitter
© Twitter
For the first time since special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation began more than a year ago, Trump is arguing he has vast constitutional powers to steer law enforcement, stop federal investigations and pardon himself, leaving Congress with impeachment as a first-threshold remedy for any alleged crimes. The president continues to say he's innocent of any obstruction of justice or collusion to interfere with the 2016 election. The Hill: Trump asserts power to pardon himself, saying he has no reason to exercise that authority because no crime has been committed. *** The Hill's Niall Stanage interviewed Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani *** – who says a sitting president can be investigated, but cannot be subpoenaed in an investigation. Giuliani challenged legal commentators who disagree with a January letter sent privately by Trump's team to the special counsel. Giuliani and the president are now describing the letter's constitutional arguments following the letter's publication by The New York Times. "It's the president who has immunity, and if you don't give it to him, you are not obeying the rule of law," the former New York mayor maintained. Read Stanage's reporting in The Memo. The 20-page letter sent in January by Trump's lawyers included a key revision of fact: on behalf of his son, the president had indeed drafted a misleading statement about a June 2016 meeting in Trump Tower that involved a Kremlin-tied lawyer who said she had dirt on presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. The New York Times examines how the president's spokeswoman and his lawyers spun different versions of that narrative in public and in private, and why it matters. > *** BREAKING Monday Night *** The Hill: Mueller says former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, under federal indictment, tried to tamper with witnesses. Powerful Debate: Senate Democratic leaders seized on the president's expansive view of his executive authority to argue that what Trump is describing is not a democracy (The Hill) … Some GOP senators maintain that a sitting president could certainly try to obstruct justice, a federal crime (The Hill) … Richard Nixon's Justice Department advised the former president in 1974 he could not pardon himself (Bloomberg). The Hill: "Certainly no one is above the law," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters. **** Philadelphia Eagles Disinvited: The Hill: The president thought he would host the Super Bowl LLI champion Philadelphia Eagles at the White House this afternoon, but scratched the event late Monday after some players declined to attend in protest over the president's vocal objections to players who kneel during the national anthem. "The Eagles wanted to send a smaller delegation, but the 1,000 fans planning to attend the event deserve better," Trump said in a terse written statement. (A musical event "to celebrate America" will be substituted on the South Lawn.) The Hill: Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney (D) called the president a "fragile egomaniac." 
© Twitter
Taxes: The Hill: Five key things to know about another round of proposed Trump administration tax cuts, a summer sequel. Defense Department: The Hill: The Pentagon's inspector general is investigating allegations of misconduct against Rear Adm. Dr. Ronny Jackson, formerly head of the White House medical unit, and physician to former President Obama and President Trump. EPA: The Hill: Scott Pruitt, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, remains under investigation for a growing list of questionable expenditures, including silver fountain pens and special journals, and alleged violations, such as tasking federal workers to perform errands and services, including booking travel, searching for an apartment, and helping Pruitt purchase a used mattress from the Trump International Hotel. **** CAMPAIGNS & POLITICS: More political news today... Trump Primary Endorsements: The Hill's Scott Wong reports the backstory describing how the president's political embrace becomes a boon among GOP candidates running in states and congressional districts like that of Rep. Dan Donovan (R-N.Y.), who says he appreciated Trump's backing during a tough primary contest against former Rep. Michael Grimm. "This is an enormously important endorsement," Donovan told The Hill in an interview. > New York GOP Debate – 77 WABC Radio hosts the first GOP primary debate between Donovan and Grimm June 11 at WABC Radio studios in New York City, with WABC Radio host and political editor Rita Cosby moderating. California Governor's Race: The Hill: A last-minute endorsement from Trump for Republican John Cox, a candidate for governor, may have averted catastrophe for the state's GOP, desperate to keep control of the House in the nation's capital. California's Primary: The Hill: Eight years after California voters bucked party leaders to establish a jungle primary system, Democrats and Republicans alike have serious misgivings about the system. "It's not doing what it was laid out to do. It's making campaigns more expensive, it's making it harder for people to run," House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R) told national correspondent Reid Wilson during an interview. "Everything about it is bad. I think it should be removed." House - California: The Hill: The race for retiring Rep. Darrell Issa's (R-Calif.) seat has become a wide open, unpredictable fight with no front-runners in either party. It's the most expensive House race in the country. Bill Clinton: USA Today: The former president cautioned Democrats who believe a "wave" is building that could unseat Republicans after the November elections. "Well, it was building, big time," Clinton said of a surge this year for the party out of power. "It's impossible to tell now, just because there are so many other intervening narratives." The strength of the economy and the prospects for progress on North Korea appear to be bolstering GOP hopes to hold down losses. (Clinton sat down with journalist Susan Page for an interview during a book tour with novelist James Patterson to plug a mystery they co-wrote titled, "The President is Missing.") > The Hill: Media columnist Joe Concha asks, Did Bill Clinton really think he could dodge #MeToo? > The Hill's Amie Parnes reports that Clinton is taking some heat during his book tour for not extending a direct apology as part of the current #MeToo discussions to former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Reuters: Will liberal-leaning billionaire Howard Schultz, executive chairman of Starbucks Corp., who announced Monday he's stepping down from the company he helped build, make a run for the White House? (He's attracted lots of publicity about his next moves and will be interviewed this morning by CNBC.) DNC Leadership: Politico: Democratic National Committee Deputy Chairman Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota is expected to make a last-minute entry today in the race for attorney general in his home state. The move would leave the national party committee without a high-level representative for the Democrats' Bernie Sanders wing. | 
