Donald Trump issued some alarming demands on Twitter this weekend based on false claims, instructing the Department of Justice to investigate whether or not the DOJ or FBI surveilled the Trump Campaign—and if the actions were undertaken at the behest of Obama Administration officials. This isn’t the first time Trump has used bogus claims to delegitimize and distract from Mueller’s investigation.
- Trump falsely claimed that the Obama Administration wiretapped Trump Tower during the 2016 election.
- After watching Fox & Friends, Trump railed against the “controversial” FISA Act, falsely alleging the Obama Administration used it to “surveil and abuse” the Trump Campaign.
- Trump lauded the controversial Nunes Memo as proof that Mueller’s investigation is a witch hunt, saying it absolved him of any allegations of collusion and obstruction. Reminder: the Nunes Memo was a sham and actually showed that Trump had a potential Russian spy as a foreign policy advisor. Meanwhile, Mueller’s investigation of collusion and obstruction is going strong, revealing evidence of collusion and leading to indictments of and guilty pleas by senior Trump campaign staff.
The Department of Justice is an independent, apolitical agency with a mission to “enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law”—not defend the personal interests of the President. This isn’t Trump’s DOJ, and the president is not above the law, no matter how often he tries to claim so.
ACTION OF THE DAY
Stop Selling Weapons Of War. Last Friday, ten people were killed in a school shooting in Santa Fe, Texas by a 17-year-old with a revolver and a shotgun, but many shootings in the U.S. are carried out using assault weapons—weapons of war. Bass Pro Shops remains one of the last major retailers to continue selling weapons of war. Tell them it’s time to stop; sign the petition here.
WHAT’S TRENDING
#ProtectDreamers. Momentum continues to build for the House to vote on a series of bills that would include a permanent fix for Dreamers. 20 House Republicans have now signed the Queen of the Hill discharge petition to force a vote but more are still needed.
Shootings Apparently Aren’t Caused By Guns. The usual barrage of inane comments came this weekend following a high school shooting in Santa Fe, Texas last week which left eight students and two teachers dead. Oliver North, incoming NRA president, blamed the shooting on the “culture of violence” in which young people are steeped, along with the prescribing of Ritalin to young boys. Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick added abortion, violent video games, and the removal of religion from schools to the list of causes. One thing they didn’t blame? The guns.
Big Step For Fighting Government Corruption. Later today Democrats in the U.S. Senate and House are introducing a bold package of policies designed to fight corruption in government and empower voters—so that elected representatives are responsive and accountable to their constituents, not wealthy special interests. Americans know that the price we pay for the current distorted political system is failure to make progress on issues that matter to American families, like good jobs and higher wages. Look out for more information about this bold new package in tomorrow’s Progress Report.
UNDER THE RADAR
Speaking Spanish. Two U.S. citizens were detained and questioned by a Border Patrol agent in Montana last week after he heard them speaking Spanish at a gas station. One of the women recorded the interaction on video, where, when asked why he was detaining them, the officer responded: “I saw that you guys are speaking Spanish, which is very unheard of up here.” In yet another example of Trump’s America, speaking Spanish evidently means you can’t be a U.S. citizen. The officer claims that his actions “were not racially-motivated.”