We’ve had about a year’s worth of news this week, most of it having to do with the complicated web of ties between Trump, his associates, and Russia. And still, Trump is repeating his claim that the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate his ties is a “witch hunt.”
When every day brings new information about who is involved in this Russia web it can be hard to keep things straight. Luckily, our friends at The Moscow Project straightened things out for us. Read this complete timeline of who knew what about Russia and when. Key points: VP Mike Pence has a strange habit of claiming to only be aware of major issues when they become public; Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker Ryan were briefed on Russia as early as summer 2015; and Rep. McCarthy—the one who said he thinks Putin pays Trump—had already seen reports on Russian hacking when he made that comment.
There’s more… The Trump Administration suggested it might appoint a new FBI Director as early as today, to get it out of the way before Trump’s overseas travel, but this morning the administration confirmed it won’t announce a new director today. So far, the administration has floated names like Sen. Liebermann—here’s why political picks like Liebermann aren’t qualified for the job.
ACTION OF THE DAY
#ThinkingCAP. The first episode of the Center for American Progress’ podcast, Thinking CAP is live—and just in time for maybe the busiest news week of all time. On the first episode of Thinking CAP, Michele and Igor talk with Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) about the growing calls for impeaching President Donald Trump and Booker’s moving speech on Tuesday at CAP’s 2017 Ideas Conference. Also on is hear from Ben Wikler, Washington Director of MoveOn.org, who tells the story of MoveOn and online activism and shares how you can sustain the Resistance. Listen here and rate the podcast on iTunes to help other people find it!
WHAT’S TRENDING
Where in the World is Donald Trump? Usually on the weekends, the answer is Mar-a-Lago or his summer golf course in Bedminster. But, this weekend, Trump is making his first international voyage as president, taking a 9-day trip to Saudi Arabia, Israel, the Vatican, Brussels, and Italy. Trump’s plans have already made some headlines—he’s already completely cancelled a visit to an ancient Masada site because Israel wouldn’t let him land his helicopter where he wanted. Citizens in these countries are preparing protests about Trump during his visit—check out events in Israel, Rome, and Brussels.
Parental Leave. Despite Ivanka Trump’s claim to be moderating influence to her father’s extremism, a leaked budget proposal for an inadequate parental-only leave policy still falls far short of the comprehensive solution that working families need—and would leave out millions that need leave for family caregiving. Trump’s plan to cover the cost of parental leave through cost savings from an already underfunded unemployment insurance system would increase the risk that states fail to pay the benefits they owe to working families, and threaten the capacity of UI to stabilize our economy during the next recession. Bottom line: this proposal is unworkable, unfunded, and set up to fail.
Regulatory Accountability Act. What is the Regulatory Accountability Act anyway? In the 5th installment of our Get Smart series with Daily Action, Sabrina De Santiago explains the GOP’s latest attempt to undue all the protections that keep us safe and allow big businesses to take over. Don’t give Trump a #LicenseToKill!
Representing. Women make up half of the U.S. population, but occupy less than 25 percent of elected offices at all levels of government. At the current rate, women in the United States won’t reach political parity until 2117. This underrepresentation is toxic for our democracy. There are countless structural barriers that keep women out of office, a new report from the Center for American Progress outlines what we can do about them.
UNDER THE RADAR
#TerenceCrutcher. His name made headlines after he was killed by Tulsa police officer Betty Jo Shelby when he was unarmed and stranded on a roadway. After a nine-hour deliberation, the jury found Shelby to be not guilty on first degree manslaughter charges, even with video of the shooting. Black men are three times more likely to be killed by legal intervention than white men and convictions of the police officers in these cases are incredibly rare. Terence Crutcher’s family vows to continue fighting for change in the Tulsa Police Department and beyond. And the Department of Justice has launched its own investigation into possible civil-rights charges over Crutcher’s death, though the status of that investigation in Jeff Session’s agency is unclear.
GOOD NEWS
Jobs. Google wants to help you find them. The tech behemoth is launching a new initiative called Google for Jobs that will collect and organize millions of job offerings in order to connect job seekers with better information about available employment. Definitely beats Googling “how do I get a job?