IG Report Finds that James Comey Defied Authority as FBI Director

The Justice Department's internal watchdog has concluded that James Comey defied authority at times during his tenure as FBI director, according to sources familiar with a draft report on the matter. 

ABC News first reported the leaks. One source said that the draft report explicitly used the word "insubordinate" to describe Comey's behavior. Another source agreed with that characterization but could not confirm the use of the term. 

In the draft report, Inspector General Michael Horowitz also rebuked former Attorney General Loretta Lynch for her handling of the federal investigation into Hillary Clinton's personal email server, the sources said. 

Horowitz's final report is expected to run several hundred pages long and be released in the coming days. The sources who spoke to ABC News were willing or able to address only a portion of the draft report's complete findings. 

There is no indication the president has seen – or will see – a draft of the report before its release. Horowitz, however, could revise the draft report now that current and former officials mentioned in it have offered their responses to the inspector general's conclusions, according to the sources.

Bill Clinton on Late Night with Stephen Colbert

On Tuesday’s “The Late Show,” Former President Bill Clinton and bestselling author James Patterson were interviewed by comedian, Stephen Colbert. The main focus of the interview was the reaction to Clinton’s interview from the “Today Show” on Monday when he was asked about Monica Lewinsky. In the NBC’s “Today” interview, Clinton acted defensively when asked questions over whether he should have resigned 20 years ago because of his sexual relationship with the White House intern.

In response to the NBC interview, Clinton said, “When I saw the interview, I thought that [it was tone deaf]. Because they had to distill and it looked like I was saying, ‘I didn’t apologize and I had no intention to.’ And I was mad at me.” 

Besides Lewinsky, Colbert asked Clinton and Patterson questions about their new book, The President is Missing, Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election, impeachment, Donald Trump and North Korea.

Report: Only One Eagles Player Was Attending White House Event

According to Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles might have been the only player in attendance for Tuesday's slated celebration. The White House claimed it originally believed 81 Eagles personnel were going to visit the White House, per NBC Philadelphia.

President Donald Trump canceled the event Monday with a statement noting the Eagles were unable to come with their full team: "The Philadelphia Eagles are unable to come to the White House with their full team to be celebrated tomorrow. They disagree with their President because he insists that they proudly stand for the National Anthem, hand on heart, in honor of the great men and women of our military and the people of our country. The Eagles wanted to send a smaller delegation, but the 1,000 fans planning to attend the event deserve better. The fans are still invited to the White House to be part of a different type of ceremony- one that will honor our great country, pay tribute to the heroes who fight to protect it and loudly and proudly play the National Anthem. I will be there at 3pm with the United States Marine Band and the United States Army Chorus to celebrate America."

In a statement from Eagles receiver Torrey Smith, he said, "There are a lot of people on the team that have plenty of different views. The men and women that wanted to go should've been able to go. It's a cowardly act to cancel the celebration because the majority of the people don't want to see you. To make it about the anthem is foolish."

Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors Won’t Visit the White House in 2018

In light of President Donald Trump uninviting the 2018 Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles to the White House, LeBron James said neither his Cleveland Cavaliers nor the Golden State Warriors would accept a visit as a winner of the NBA Finals. 

Lebron James said, “I know no matter who wins this series, no one wants an invite anyway. It won't be Cleveland or Golden State going.” James went on to say, “As long as he's in office, then the communication and things like that are going to continue to happen. It's a lot of things that we believe in as Americans that we don't feel that he's for. There are a lot of people that believe that he's not for the people or doing things that's right by the people. So, it's not surprising hearing the news today with the Eagles.”

Illegal Immigrant Children Stuck at Border Stations

Border agents and child welfare workers are running out of space to shelter children who have been separated from their parents at the U.S. border as part of the Trump administration's new “zero tolerance” policy, according to two U.S. officials and a document obtained by NBC News. 

In May, the Trump administration began enforcing a "zero tolerance" policy on the southern border, prosecuting any adult who entered the country illegally in order to crack down on the surge in the number of immigrants crossing the border. Parents traveling with children are separated from their kids while they face legal proceedings.

As of Sunday, nearly 300 of the 550 children currently in custody at U.S. border stations had spent more than 72 hours there, the time limit for immigrants of any age to be held in the government's temporary facilities. Almost half of those 300 children are younger than 12, according to the document, meaning they are classified by the Department of Homeland Security as "tender age children." 

The stations, run by the Border Patrol and meant only as the first stop for children detained at the border, often lack adequate bedding or separate sleeping rooms for children. 

On Tuesday, the United Nations human rights office said the Trump administration’s practice of separating children from migrant families entering the United States violates their rights and international laws. 

The human rights office said it appeared that, as The New York Times revealed in April, United States authorities had separated several hundred children, including toddlers, from their parents or others claiming to be their family members, under a policy of criminally prosecuting undocumented people crossing the border 

That practice “amounts to arbitrary and unlawful interference in family life and is a serious violation of the rights of the child,” Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, based in Geneva, told reporters.

China Offers to Buy Nearly $70 Billion of U.S. Products to Fend Off Trade Tariffs

China has offered to buy nearly $70 billion of U.S. products if the Trump administration abandons threatened tariffs. The U.S. products include: U.S. farm, manufacturing and energy products. 

In weekend talks in Beijing, China negotiators led by Liu He, a Chinese economist and politician, presented to a U.S. team a package that includes Chinese companies buying more U.S. soybeans, corn, natural gas, crude oil, coal and manufactured goods. 

President Trump has pressed China to commit to reduce the $375 billion U.S. merchandise trade deficit with China by $200 billion. China made it very clear throughout the negotiations that the offer would be void if the US proceeds with its plan to impose tariffs on $50 billion of China-made products.

Pew Research Poll: Almost seven-in-ten Americans have news fatigue

A Pew Research Poll conducted from February 22 to March 4, 2018, found that 68% of the Americans polled feel worn out by the amount of news there is these days, while 30% said they like the amount of news they get.  

The 68% who are “worn out by the amount of news” expressed feelings of information overload and is in line with how Americans felt during the 2016 presidential election, when a majority expressed feelings of exhaustion from election coverage.

Mail Time!

• Bill, I enjoy watching your show and typically agree with your astute analysis, however I just cannot come around to your side on the wedding cake issue. Had the baker been giving out the cakes for free, I would agree with you 100%; however, the baker is SELLING the cakes, i.e. exchanging them for $USD currency, with the goal of generating a profit...simply put, he is ENGAGING IN COMMERCE, not a religious ritual at home or in a place of worship. I believe engaging in U.S. commerce is a privilege, and as such he should adhere to the many rules of commerce which dictate fairness and equality. What if he owned a bank? would he be allowed to deny this couple a personal loan for this wedding? Where does it stop? I'm afraid this is a slippery slope and will cause more chaos than clarity down the line...I appreciate your point of view, but I hope you see mine here as well.

• Hi Bill, Another great podcast! I have a question about the IG Report. What do you think will happen if it falls short of the President's expectations? Do you think he'll ask the IG to follow through with his request to investigate "Spygate"? I'm waiting with baited breath for June 11th and the release of the report, if it will actually be released then?

• I just renewed my membership and so glad I did! Always like hearing your take on world and national events. I hear all the time from people on the left ex. Eagles owner of how disgusted they are of Trump and where the country is going. So, I ask what would they do differently? The economy is rolling, unemployment is low for everyone, ISIS is wiped out and we are on the verge of denuclearization on the Korean peninsula. almost never hear what they would do besides complaining.