Tag: Nikki Haley

Today in 5 Lines During a court hearing in Manhattan, Fox News host Sean Hannity was revealed as a client of President Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen. Cohen’s attorneys are seeking a temporary restraining order to stop the government from reviewing documents seized in last week’s FBI raids on Cohen’s home, office, and hotel room. President Trump reportedly halted a preliminary plan to impose additional sanctions on Russia, backpedaling an announcement from UN Ambassador Nikki Haley. The Government Accountability Office concluded that the Environmental Protection Agency violated federal law when it spent more than $43,000 to install a private phone booth in Administrator Scott Pruitt’s office. Seven prison inmates were killed during fights that broke out overnight at Lee Correctional Institution in Lee County, South Carolina. Desiree Linden won the Boston Marathon, the first American woman to do so since 1985. Today on The Atlantic The View From Inside: Sunday’s ABC interview with former FBI Director James Comey captured the surrealism that has pervaded American politics for the last two years. (David A. Graham) ‘Unfit to Command’: America will soon face larger military decisions than whether to strike Syria, and President Trump is in no state to make them, writes David Frum: “He seethes with rage and resentment for all the world to view—and those emotions are visibly distorting his decision-making.” Combating the Opioid Epidemic: In 1995, France made a policy change that led to a reduction in heroin overdoses by 79 percent. (Olga Khazan) How Did Syria End Up Like This? : It all started with a little graffiti.

Lawmakers from across the political spectrum led tributes to former first lady Barbara Bush Sunday after a spokesman announced the 92-year-old was in "failing health." The official @GOP Twitter account tweeted: "Our entire RNC family offers prayers of comfort and peace for Barbara Bush and the entire Bush family." White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said, "The President's and First Lady's prayers are with all of the Bush Family during this time." Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley tweeted Sunday that Bush is "a woman of great faith, great strength, and an unwavering love of country. "Our country is better because of former First Lady Barbara Bush," Haley added. Former Republican U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, now the permanent U.S. representative to NATO, described Bush as "one of America's most-loved women." "Barbara Bush has a character that is as big, inspiring and iconic as Texas," the state's governor, Greg Abbott, said in a statement. Rep. Sean Maloney, D-N.Y., paid tribute to Bush as "a graceful First Lady who has dedicated her life to improving education and promoting literacy", while Maryland Gov. Ohio Gov. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said he was "praying" for Bush and her family and called her "a special woman, whose great faith and love for her country inspires us all."

With the Syria strikes over, President Trump is furiously tweeting about James Comey's new book. NPR's Michel Martin and the Washington Post's Robert Costa consider the state of the Trump presidency. But many more of his tweets were dedicated to aggressive personal attacks on former FBI Director James Comey and Comey's new book, which will be available to the public starting this week. ROBERT COSTA: Great to be with you. MARTIN: Well, the big news this weekend was the U.S.-led strikes on Syria. MARTIN: So let's talk about the other aspect of this story, which is the United States ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said today that new sanctions are going to be announced tomorrow against Russia because of Russia's support for the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad. And how do we understand this administration's evolving Russia policy? MARTIN: So let's talk about the story that a lot of us have been following today, which is the president's tweets about former FBI Director James Comey and his book. But the real big picture that's worrying this administration, based on my reporting, is the midterm elections, and you look at the news last week of Speaker Paul Ryan announcing his decision not to seek re-election. MARTIN: That was Washington Post national political reporter Robert Costa.

Intrigue over election meddling, President Donald Trump's mysterious past ties to Moscow, the Kremlin's international belligerence and toxic diplomatic ties have Washington fixated on Russia as much it ever was during the Cold War. The White House made a significant turn by finally rolling out sanctions on Russian groups and individuals -- including one close to Putin -- to punish election interference by the Kremlin and signed up to a tough statement alongside Britain, France and Germany slamming Moscow over an alleged assassination bid on a former Russian spy using nerve agent in rural England. But consistent with the pattern of this presidency, the administration's narrative was quickly overshadowed by a new bombshell about Robert Mueller's probe, when it emerged the special counsel had subpoenaed Trump Organization documents, including some about Russia. Trump warned last year that Mueller would cross a "red line" if he began to probe his family finances not related to Russia, sparking speculation that he could fire the special counsel -- a step that could cause a constitutional crisis. But his White House finally did target Moscow on Thursday, unveiling its strongest sanctions yet against individuals and entities in an effective validation of assessments that election meddling did take place. "It certainly looks like the Russians were behind it. It is hard to believe that any previous president since the end of World War II would have yet to deliver unequivocal warnings to Russia or clear reassurances to allies in Europe in the face of such Russian behavior. "To hear the President actually speak to camera or speak to the American people and denounce Putin, denounce the Russian government for the steps they are taking, would be, I think, be far more powerful," Democratic Rep. Dan Kildee of Michigan told CNN's Brianna Keilar on Thursday. That speculation intensified after it was revealed Thursday -- hours after the sanctions announcement -- that Mueller had subpoenaed documents from the Trump Organization including some to do with Russia. It also marked the first publicly known occasion on which Mueller has demanded documents related to Trump's business.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and White House chief of staff John Kelly have voiced frustration about Jared Kushner's encroachment on Tillerson's position, according to a report from Politico. Tillerson is reportedly frustrated with Kushner's involvement in foreign affairs, which are usually handled by the nation's diplomatic corps. Kushner, however, has been responsible for Israeli-Palestinian relations, as well as U.S. relations with Mexico and China. “We can’t have four secretaries of state,” Tillerson said. Politico also reports that Kelly has repeated Tillerson's complaints, which reportedly have not been taken well by Kushner. "We need a secretary of state who is supportive of the president," Kushner told Kelly, according to Politico. Kelly is in the process of grappling with the issue of Kushner's security clearance in the White House. Trump said on Friday that Kelly would have the final say on Kushner's security clearance. “I will let Gen. Kelly make that decision,” Trump said at a news conference. “And he's going to do what's right for the country.

The Story: The U.S. has recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and its ambassador to the U.N., Nikki Haley, has clarified that her government...