Latest News on Trump/Mueller

On Wednesday, President Trump vowed he will continue to “fight back” against special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, blaming it for Washington’s deteriorating relationship with Moscow. 

In a barrage of early morning tweets, Trump targeted Mueller and his supervisor, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, by name. 

@RealDonaldTrump: “Much of the bad blood with Russia is caused by the Fake & Corrupt Russia Investigation, headed up by the all Democrat loyalists, or people that worked for Obama.”  

On Tuesday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that the president has the power to fire the special counsel, but GOP leaders are warning Trump not to fire Mueller.

Democrats Want Legislation to Protect Mueller

A bipartisan Senate bill designed to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller's job is on track for a vote in the Judiciary Committee, according to a source briefed on the committee's plans.

The combined version of two Mueller protection measures, set to be released Wednesday, would give any special counsel 10 days after a termination to challenge the move in court. 

The new bill is the product of months-long talks among Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.). 

Sen. Grassley is seeking agreement from his committee's ranking Democrat, Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, to add the combined Mueller legislation to the panel's agenda for a Thursday markup, according to a source briefed on his plans.

Quinnipiac Poll: Public Doesn’t Care About Stormy Daniels

A Quinnipiac University Poll conducted from April 6 - 9, 2018, shows that most people don’t think Stormy Daniels’ alleged affair with President Donald Trump is important. 

When respondents were asked “Do you think President Trump's alleged affair with Stormy Daniels is an important issue, or don't you think so?” 23% responded, ‘yes, it’s important,’ 73% responded, ‘not important’ and 4% said they ‘don’t know.’

Trump VS. Putin

Trump told reporters at a meeting with military leaders on Monday that the chemical weapons attack on civilians in Douma, near Damascus, would be met “forcefully.” 

President Trump in an early morning tweet on Wednesday warned Moscow that "nice and new and 'smart'" missiles would be headed to Syria, saying, "Get ready Russia."  

The tweet comes after Russia's ambassador to Lebanon, Alexander Zasypkin, told a Hezbollah-controlled TV station that Russian air defenses would shoot down any incoming missiles. Trump has laid blame for a chemical weapons attack on Syrian civilians earlier this week squarely at the feet of Assad and his ally Putin and said he would decide on a response soon.

The president in a second tweet on Wednesday said the relationship with Moscow "is worse now than it has ever been." 

Relations between Russia and the West have been steadily deteriorating over recent weeks due to Moscow's support for the Syrian government as well as the poisoning of an ex-Russian spy on British soil, which the West has blamed on Russia. 

For the second time in less than a year, Trump is weighing a military response to a gas attack. This time, he’s under pressure to hit harder and take bigger risks. The attack Trump ordered last year was limited to a single Syrian base and left little lasting damage. A new retaliatory strike will almost certainly inflict greater damage and probably hit more targets important to President Bashar Assad’s regime. 

French President Emmanuel Macron indicated on Tuesday he believes Syria used chemical weapons in violation of United Nations resolutions and that a decision on how to respond would come from France and its allies, particularly the U.S. and the U.K., “in the coming days.” President Macron said any attack would be aimed at the regime’s chemical “capabilities” and not at its Iranian and Russian allies. 

Saudi Arabia too could participate in any strike “if our alliance with our allies requires it,” Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said at a joint press conference with Macron in Paris. 

Russia and Syria quickly responded to Trump's threat on Wednesday. Syria's Foreign Ministry said it was not surprised by the US' "reckless escalation" via Trump's tweets.

Paul Ryan Will Not Run for Re-Election

In April 2017, Paul Ryan’s spokeswoman AshLee Strong told SNOPES via email that Ryan was not considering relinquishing his post as Speaker of the House. On December 20, 2017, Ryan adamantly denied rumors that he was considering stepping down in the near future. On March 26, 2018, after Rep. Mark Amodei (R-Nev.), suggested other GOP lawmakers were bracing for Ryan to resign from office this spring, AshLee Strong released a statement “The speaker is not resigning”.

However, despite the rumors, Speaker Paul Ryan announced Wednesday that he will not seek re-election in November 2018. Mr. Ryan said he will serve until the end of this Congress in January, which will mark 20 years in Congress. He insisted he will be “leaving this majority in good hands with what I believe is a very bright future.” 

Ryan’s retirement, at the age of 48, is sure to kick off a succession battle for the leadership of the House Republican Conference, likely between the House majority leader, Kevin McCarthy of California, and the House majority whip, Steve Scalise of Louisiana. 

Explaining his decision to his Republican colleagues Wednesday morning at a meeting in the Capitol, a subdued Mr. Ryan said he wanted to spend more time with his children, who live in the same town where the speaker grew up. Trump offered well-wishes on Twitter ahead of a planned dinner with Republican congressional leaders at the White House Wednesday evening. 

Ryan was first elected to the House of Representatives twenty years ago, and elected speaker of the House in 2015. He struggled to unite his party on the issues. Health care reforms stalled, while failed negotiations over spending shut the government down. The Republican leader championed the GOP's tax cuts late last year, securing the lone major legislative victory of President Donald Trump's tumultuous first year in office. Ryan has long insisted he never wanted the speakership. He wound up pursuing the gavel after McCarthy dropped out of contention due to comments he made regarding Hillary Clinton and the Benghazi investigation.

Harvard Poll: Most Millennials Don’t Trust Facebook

Harvard’s Institute of Politics conducted a survey from March 8-25, 2018, which asked millennials if they trusted Facebook. 4% said they trust the social media website all of the time, 22% said they trust it most of the time, 48% said sometimes they trust the site and 23% they never trust Facebook.

Politico: MSNBC’s surging ratings fuel Democratic optimism

Democratic strategists are seeing a new reason for optimism about the midterms: soaring ratings for liberal-leaning MSNBC. 

Fox News and CNN both lost viewers from the first quarter of 2017 to the first quarter of 2018 — dropping 16 percent and 13 percent, respectively — as did pretty much every major cable network, according to Nielsen. MSNBC, on the other hand, gained 30 percent in the same period. 

While Fox News held its standing as cable TV’s No. 1 network both for total day and prime time, MSNBC finished second in both categories, enthusing Democrats who see the rise of the network — powered by the liberal commentary of star host Rachel Maddow — not just as a reflection of energy within their base, but as a tool to help candidates in the coming elections. 

Meanwhile, though Fox continued to post strong numbers — with 1.4 million total average viewers, compared to 1 million for MSNBC and 713,000 for CNN — analysts say that some of its audience may be suffering from Trump fatigue. Fox News’ prime-time numbers are down 13 percent, and the departure of big names like Bill O’Reilly, who left in April 2017, may have played a role as well. But the network's opinion hosts have tied it so tightly to President Donald Trump that its diminished ratings may simply reflect that he is less popular now than when he took office.

"Those rallying against any kind of incumbent power are going to consolidate an audience," said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, adding that she was not surprised to see liberal enthusiasm for MSNBC rise and conservative fervor for Fox News subside somewhat.

Holly’s first No Spin News Appearance!

Bill’s adorable corgi, Holly, made her first on camera appearance during today’s show. Make sure you don’t miss it!

Mail Time!

• Women are being used to hurt Trump, but, Bill, would you explain again how they could be used to impeach him. I mean it would not be anything illegal- right?

• Bill, you frequently analyze Trump's decisions, both good and bad. I think one of his worst decisions was appointing Jeff Sessions as Attorney General. Consider if he had chosen Rudy Giuliani instead. The Republicans would still hold the Alabama Senate seat, the Mueller investigation would be over, and the FBI would be getting cleaned up and re-focused on real criminal issues. What say you?  

• I listen to your podcast almost every day. Tuesday's podcast in particular was excellent. Your explanation of the Syrian situation was most helpful. Keep up your great work!

Word of the Day: Cacophony