Manafort Painted as Person Who Lied to Support Life of Luxury

Federal prosecutors on Tuesday described former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort as a man who lied in an effort to fund a lavish lifestyle replete with luxury cars and multiple houses. In his opening statement in Manafort’s trial, Uzo Asonye, a prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, told the 12-member jury that Manafort was someone who “believed the law did not apply to him, not the tax laws, not the banking laws.” Asonye said “All of the charges boil down” to one issue, “that Paul Manafort lied.”

Kelly Intends to Remain as Trump’s Chief of Staff Through 2020

John Kelly plans to remain as White House chief of staff through President Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign, two White House officials confirmed Tuesday, quieting speculation that Kelly was nearing the exits because of tensions with the president over his strict management style. Kelly, who on Monday celebrated his first anniversary as chief of staff, told West Wing staff that day that he will be staying in his post at Trump’s request through the remainder of the president’s first term. When Trump was asked about Kelly he said, “we’ve had a very good relationship, and we’ve achieved a lot. I like him, and I respect him.”

Michigan Supreme Court Rules to Allow Redistricting Plan on November Ballot

The Michigan Supreme Court ruled Tuesday night in a 4-3 decision that a proposal to create an independent commission on redistricting will appear on the November ballot. In the split decision, the court ruled that voter-initiated proposals were to be permitted as long as they do not “significantly alter or abolish the form or structure of our government, making it tantamount to creating a new constitution.” Republicans have maintained or increased congressional and legislative influence since the last drawing of political boundaries in 2011, according to the Detroit News. An anti-gerrymandering petition effort had attained almost 400,000 valid signatures for the plan through efforts of volunteers with the Voters Not Politicians committee.

Migrant Detention Centers Are ‘Like a Summer Camp'

Senate Judiciary Committee members heard from government officials on border security and immigration policy for migrant families seeking asylum in the United States and the separation of some of those families as a result of the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy. Among the officials were leaders of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Health and Human Services, and Customs and Border Patrol agencies, one of whom told lawmakers he had warned the Trump administration of potential emotional and psychological effects for children affected by the policy. Matthew Albence, the acting No. 2 official at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, described family detention centers set up to shelter migrants as “more like a summer camp.” Albence went on to say, “These individuals have access to 24/7 food and water. They have educational opportunities. They have recreational opportunities, both structured as well as unstructured.” The officials maintained that past administrations had also cracked down on illegal immigration, similarly resulting in family separations.

Reporters Chase Kellyanne Down to Ask About Collusion

Counselor to the president, Kellyanne Conway, was chased down by reporters on the White House driveway. Reporters asked a series of questions about Russian collusion and the Paul Manafort trial which began on Tuesday. Conway broke from the gaggle of reporters and spun around to answer the collusion question. Conway then admitted to collusion, saying, “As you know, I did not collude with Russia,” Conway said, “I was colluding with voters in Michigan and Wisconsin.” Michigan and Wisconsin are two states which Trump won, and Hillary Clinton famously refused to campaign in near the end of the election.

Courts in Three States Bar Release of 3D-Printable Gun Blueprints

Three courts on Tuesday barred the chief promoter of 3D-printable guns from posting his designs online, just hours before a midnight deadline that would have made such information widely accessible. Courts in New York, New Jersey, and Washington State issued rulings barring Cody Wilson and his company, Defense Distribution, from uploading instructions for making 3D-printable guns at midnight Wednesday as he had planned to do under a settlement reached in June with the Trump administration. "Today Cody Wilson committed to not publish any new printable gun codes nationwide until a court hearing in September," New Jersey's attorney general, Gurbir S. Grewal, announced, calling it a "big victory for public safety and law enforcement safety.”

Acosta Complains That Trump Rally Crowd Hates Him

CNN chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta was reporting from President Donald Trump’s upcoming rally in Tampa, Florida, when the crowd broke into anti-CNN chants. CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer checked in on Acosta on Tuesday afternoon only to find him in a less-than-ideal situation. Acosta was practically being drowned out by a raucous “CNN Sucks!” chant by the crowd behind him. Acosta told Blitzer, “Wolf, just to give you a sense of what’s happening right now, you can hear there is a chorus of boos and other chants from this Trump crowd here in Tampa, Florida there, saying things like, ‘CNN sucks,’ ‘go home,’ and ‘fake news,'” Acosta complained. “Wolf, obviously all of those things are false.”

Tweets You May Have Missed!

@NewYorkStateAG, July 31: “#BREAKING: We just secured an order blocking Trump admin from allowing the distribution of plans to print 3-D guns. As we argued in our suit, it is crazy to give criminals the tools to build untraceable, undetectable 3-D printed guns at the touch of a button.”

@Acosta, July 31: “One of the surprising things I heard tonight in Tampa is Trump supporters saying I should be on their team. Anybody remember when we were all on the same team? I do.”

@KellyannePolls, July 31: “Hail to the Chief. Fail to those who started writing about his exit in October! (and never stopped).”