https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2018/06/12/day-509/
Day 509: A very special bond.
1/ The Justice Department argued that Trump could continue to profit from foreign governments visiting his hotel in Washington, D.C. if he didn't explicitly provide something in return. A federal judge criticized the argument that Trump's financial interest in the Trump International Hotel in D.C. is constitutional. The lawsuit, brought by the District of Columbia and the state of Maryland, claims that Trump's profits from the hotel violate the Emoluments Clause, which prohibits government employees from receiving financial benefits outside of their official salary. The judge promised to decide by the end of the July whether to allow the case to proceed to the next stage. (New York Times / BuzzFeed News / CNN)
https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/11/politics/trump-emoluments-hearing/index.html
2/ Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump earned at least $82 million in outside income while serving as Trump's advisers during 2017. Kushner reported more than $5 million in income from a Kushner Cos. apartment complex in Plainsboro, N.J. (Washington Post)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/jared-kushner-and-ivanka-trump-made-at-least-82-million-in-outside-income-last-year-while-serving-in-the-white-house-filings-show/2018/06/11/a41d0720-6dab-11e8-bd50-b80389a4e569_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.cc17e4068a68
3/ Ivanka Trump personally made $3.9 million last year from her stake in the Trump International Hotel. She made an additional $5 million from businesses connected to her personal brand, as well as roughly $2 million in 2017 in pay and severance from the Trump Payroll Corp. Her reported income from the hotel in 2017 was much higher than it was last year, when she reported about $2.4 million in income since it opened in September 2016. (Politico)
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/11/ivanka-trump-international-hotel-profit-637361
4/ Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee want to interview Ivanka Trump as part of the investigation into Russian election interference. The committee wants to interview Ivanka about "two separate national security questions." Sen. Ron Wyden said investigators should ask about her role in connecting a Russian weightlifter, Dmitry Klokov, with Michael Cohen. Klokov offered to connect her father to Putin in order to facilitate building a Trump Tower in Moscow. The other issue Wyden said investigators should ask about is China's decision to grant Ivanka trademarks around the same time her father promised to help Chinese telecom manufacturer ZTE stay in business. (BuzzFeed News)
https://www.buzzfeed.com/emmaloop/democrats-want-to-interview-ivanka-trump-in-the-russia-probe
5/ The Senate blocked Trump's deal with Chinese telecom giant ZTE. The Senate's move comes less than a week after Trump struck a deal with ZTE that would keep the company in business with U.S. companies and markets. The ZTE deal would have forced the company to pay $1 billion in penalties, reorganize itself, and insert U.S. compliance officers into the company in exchange for access to U.S. consumers. ZTE is considered by the U.S. intelligence community to be a mechanism for espionage by selling phones that can be tracked and enabled to steal intellectual property. (NBC News)
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/senate-blocks-zte-deal-rebuke-trump-deal-n882196
Dept. of USA vs DPRK.
*A quick collection of some of the top headlines following the Trump-Kim summit. *
Trump promised to order an end to regular war games that the U.S. conducts with South Korea as part of his concessions to North Korea at the nuclear summit with Kim Jong Un. Trump said he "developed a very special bond" with the North Korean leader, and said Kim had "reaffirmed" his commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. "We’re ready to write a new chapter between our nations," Trump said at a press conference in Singapore. (Washington Post / New York Times)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-kim-summit-trump-says-we-have-developed-a-very-special-bond-at-end-of-historic-meeting/2018/06/12/ff43465a-6dba-11e8-bf86-a2351b5ece99_story.html?utm_term=.9062092d1277
Winners and losers from the Trump-Kim summit. Many details remain unresolved, including the concrete steps that North Korea will take in the denuclearization process. Still, the summit was a historic moment with some clear winners and losers. (Washington Post)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2018/06/12/winners-and-losers-from-the-trump-kim-summit/
Trump and Kim See New Chapter for Nations After Summit. In the statement they signed, Mr. Trump "committed to provide security guarantees" to North Korea, and Mr. Kim "reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula." (New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/11/world/asia/trump-kim-summitmeeting.html
Historic Trump-Kim summit ends with promise, light on substance. Several experts said the summit failed to secure any concrete commitments by Pyongyang for dismantling its nuclear arsenal. They also noted the statement did not refer to human rights in one of the world’s most repressive nations. (Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa/trump-optimistic-on-north-korea-summit-despite-differences-on-ending-nuclear-standoff-idUSKBN1J72PM
Trump's optimistic news conference after meeting with Kim Jong Un, annotated. Trump on Tuesday hailed a “comprehensive” agreement with North Korea at a news conference after meeting with Kim Jong Un in Singapore. (Washington Post)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2018/06/12/trumps-optimistic-news-conference-after-meeting-with-kim-jong-un-annotated/
Full text: The joint statement signed by Trump and Kim. (Politico)
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/12/full-text-trump-kim-korea-summit-637541
Notables.
Five states are holding primaries today: Nevada, Virginia, Maine, South Carolina and North Dakota. This is everything you need to know about key races in each state.
https://talk.whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/t/the-2018-midterm-election-schedule-primaries-and-key-dates/3493
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro apologized for his "special place in hell" comments directed at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. (Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-g7-summit-navarro/white-houses-navarro-apologizes-for-special-place-in-hell-comment-idUSKBN1J8205?
Trump's economic adviser suffered a heart attack. Larry Kudlow is currently being treated at Walter Reed Medical Center in Maryland. A White House spokesperson said Kudlow is "doing well" after suffering a "very mild heart attack." (Politico / Bloomberg / CNBC)
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/11/kudlow-suffers-heart-attack-trump-tweets-637534
The Department of Justice will likely issue a public report next month on foreign efforts to interfere in U.S. elections and how to combat them. Jeff Sessions convened a cyber-digital task force in February, after facing criticism from Democrats to do more to address future foreign interference. (The Hill)
http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/391812-doj-likely-to-issue-public-report-on-foreign-election-interference-in
Ted Cruz defended the Trump administration's policy of separating families at the border, saying it can be avoided if people stop illegally crossing the border. The separation happens regardless of whether a migrant is seeking asylum. (The Hill)
http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/391699-cruz-defends-trump-policy-of-family-separation