https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2018/04/16/day-452/
Day 452: Morally unfit.
1/ James Comey called Trump "morally unfit to be president" and likened "the loyalty oaths" to a mob boss at "the dominant center of everything" who is doing "tremendous damage" to institutional and cultural norms. In his Sunday interview with George Stephanopoulos, Comey said that it is "possible, but I don't know" if Russia has compromising information on Trump. (ABC News / Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-comey-book/fired-fbi-director-comey-says-trump-morally-unfit-abc-news-interview-idUSKBN1HM0O5
Annotated excerpts from James Comey's "20/20" interview. (New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/15/us/politics/comey-abc-interview-excerpts.html
2/ Trump tweeted that Comey is a "not smart," "self serving" liar, who deserves jail for being the "WORST FBI Director in history, by far." Th tweets came hours before Comey's interview aired. Trump also insisted that Comey's memos are "FAKE!" while doubling down on calling the former FBI director a "Slimeball!" Trump also charged that the only reason Comey reopened the Clinton email investigation in the final days of the 2016 election was because he wanted a job in her administration. Trump added: "I never asked Comey for Personal Loyalty." (Washington Post)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-assails-comey-in-tweetstorm-calls-for-ex-fbi-director-to-be-imprisoned/2018/04/15/af00c178-40af-11e8-ad8f-27a8c409298b_story.html?utm_term=.339b68a029df
3/ Trump continued his Twitter attacks on Comey, accusing the former FBI director of lying to Congress and having "committed many crimes!" Trump did not specify what crimes he believed Comey and others have committed. (New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/16/us/politics/trump-comey-clinton.html
4/ Trump asked a federal judge to block the Justice Department from viewing evidence seized during raids on Michael Cohen's office, home, and hotel. Trump's attorneys argued that some of the evidence seized from Cohen should first be reviewed by Trump, not federal prosecutors in New York who are investigating Cohen, because some of the materials may involve attorney-client privilege. (Bloomberg / Washington Post)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-16/trump-seeks-to-delay-his-own-justice-department-in-cohen-probe
5/ Trump wants the power to hire and fire all "officers of the United States" who "exercise significant authority" under the law. Trump's Solicitor General Noel Francisco intervened in a minor SEC case to urge the Supreme Court to clarify the president's constitutional "power to oversee executive officers through removal." The move comes as Trump has repeatedly claimed that he has the power to fire special prosecutor Robert Mueller. Francisco could also be in line to oversee the Mueller probe if Rod Rosenstein is fired. (Los Angeles Times)
http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-court-trump-fire-20180415-story.html
6/ Paul Ryan: "I don't think it's necessary" to pass a bill to protect Robert Mueller from being fired by Trump. "I don't think he's going to fire Mueller." Hundreds of former Justice Department employees, meanwhile, are urging Congress to "swiftly and forcefully respond" should Trump fire Mueller. (NBC News / Washington Post)
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/paul-ryan-not-necessary-bring-bill-protect-mueller-n866086
7/ Michael Cohen used the same Delaware LLC to handle the payoffs to Stormy Daniels and a former Playboy model who alleged Elliott Broidy impregnated her. Federal prosecutors are examining money flowing in and out of Essential Consultants as part of a broad investigation into Cohen's activities to silence women with allegations against Trump or those near him. Separately, Cohen also killed a 2013 story where Us Weekly was going to report a story about Donald Trump Jr. having an affair with one of the singers in the group "Dumblonde." (Wall Street Journal)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-lawyer-michael-cohen-used-the-same-delaware-company-for-payment-deals-to-two-women-1523835216
8/ Trump's 2020 reelection campaign has spent about 22% of its fundraising on legal fees related to the ongoing special counsel investigation and a legal challenge by Stormy Daniels. The campaign also spent about $125,000 at Trump businesses, including Trump International Hotel, Trump restaurants, and Trump Tower. (Washington Post / BuzzFeed News)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-reelection-committee-has-spent-more-than-1-out-of-every-5-on-legal-fees-this-year/2018/04/15/2a9248e8-40f1-11e8-8569-26fda6b404c7_story.html
poll/ 56% of Americans disapprove of Trump's job performance, versus 40% who approve. Those who strongly disapprove outnumber those who strongly approve by nearly 2-1. (ABC News)
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/economy-helps-trump-approval-personality-women-poll/story?id=54445035
poll/ 47% of voters want a Democratic-controlled Congress, compared to 40% who prefer a GOP-controlled Congress – down from the Democrats' 10-point edge in March. (NBC News)
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/poll-shows-democrats-have-midterm-intensity-advantage-no-knockout-yet-n865916
Notables.
Trump tried to block Pence's national security adviser appointment. After Trump learned that Pence was bringing on Nikki Haley's deputy, Jon Lerner, Trump told Kelly to get rid of Lerner. (Axios)
https://www.axios.com/trump-pence-block-national-security-lerner-haley-1256a68a-718e-42e2-a4d5-e52b7d86b402.html
Jon Lerner stepped down two days after being named Pence's new national security aide. Trump was told – in error – that Lerner was a "Never Trumper," which caused him to boil over. Lerner offered to withdraw "to minimize the amount of conflict and internal drama." (Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-pence/after-trump-drama-new-pence-national-security-aide-steps-down-idUSKBN1HN0CF
The Pentagon said there has been a "2,000% increase in Russian trolls in the last 24 hours," following the airstrikes against Syria on Friday night. (Axios)
https://www.axios.com/russian-bots-increase-2195bf68-567c-4466-a705-17e69d4b6cad.html
The Trump administration walked back Nikki Haley's announcement that the U.S. Treasury plans to issue additional sanctions on Russia following the chemical weapons attack in Syria last week. "We are considering additional sanctions on Russia and a decision will be made in the near future," Sarah Huckabee Sanders said. (The Hill)
http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/383354-white-house-walks-back-haley-announcement-on-russian-sanctions-for
Scott Pruitt's $43,000 secure "privacy booth" violated spending laws, the Government Accountability Office said. Pruitt told a congressional committee he needed the booth to make secure calls to the White House and discuss classified information, but he was unable to tell the lawmakers how often he would use it. (ABC News / Bloomberg / Washington Post)
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/epa-broke-spending-law-pruitt-phone-booth-government/story?id=54501480