| | | | The Russia story -- what the country did to influence the 2016 election and who it did it with -- just won't go away.
On Wednesday alone, we had four separate developments.
1) The Department of Justice is blocking Senate investigators from interviewing two FBI officials with direct knowledge of the firing of former FBI Director James Comey.
2) A secret Russian plan proposed full normalization of diplomatic relationships between the two countries in the early days of the Trump administration.
3) Michael Flynn Jr., the son of the deposed national security adviser, is a subject of the special counsel probe.
4) Robert Mueller's team is focusing closely on how Russia used social media to meddle in the 2016 election.
Add them all up and two things become clear: The Mueller probe is in full swing and it appears to be zeroing in on some targets.
It's easy to forget amid all the focus on Hurricanes Irma and Harvey, President Trump's bipartisan overtures and the start of the NFL season that day in, day out Mueller and his team are working to nail down what Russia actually did -- and what role, if any, Trump associates played in that effort.
It's the tortoise and the hare. Trump is the hare -- constantly sprinting around from one news cycle to the next. Mueller is the tortoise, slowly and methodically gathering evidence.
But, for all Trump's activity -- and all the other stories that have dominated the headlines in the last few weeks -- the tortoise is still there and still moving forward.
Days like today are a good reminder of that fact. The Mueller investigation is now something close to an unstoppable force -- with an unknown payload -- in regards to the Trump presidency. (Yes, Trump can fire Mueller but it's hard to see how such an extreme move would make this investigation go away.)
We don't know what or when Mueller will deliver his report. But it's coming -- and seems very unlikely to lead to a "nothing to see here" conclusion.
That uncertainty has to terrify Republicans.
-- Chris | | Sen. Ted Cruz sat down with CNN's Dana Bash Wednesday to address the "staffing issue" that led to a pornographic video being "liked" on his Twitter account. Here are some highlights from the interview:
* "It was not me and it's not going to happen again."
* "We had a staffer who accidentally hit the wrong button."
* "It was an honest mistake. It wasn't malicious."
* "We have talked with the staffer, it's not going to happen again."
* "Consenting adults should be able to do whatever they want in their bedrooms."
Cruz added that the staffer has not and will not be fired. | | | Lin-Manuel Miranda is in D.C. this week to receive honors from both the US Capitol Historical Society (this happened last night) and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (tonight). To celebrate his return to the district, here's a clip of him first performing a song from "Hamilton" -- which wasn't a musical yet -- for the Obamas at the White House Evening of Poetry, Music, and the Spoken Word on May 12, 2009. | | MOOCH'S 'NEW DAY JOB ... FOR A DAY' | | The Hollywood Reporter's Jeremy Barr reported on Twitter on Wednesday that short-lived White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci is headed to TMZ, kind of.
The Mooch "will have a new day job ... for a day," according to a TMZ release. On Monday September 18 (next week), Scaramucci will host TMZ on TV as well as TMZ Live with Harvey Levin. Levin said "Anthony Scaramucci will have an even shorter run on TMZ than he did as the White House communications director, but it is going to be awesome."
Scaramucci tweeted about the news also. He wrote: "It will only be 1/11th of a Scaramucci," and tagged TMZ, TMZ Live and Harvey Levin.
The announcement comes a day after Scaramucci teased something called "The Scaramucci Post" on Twitter and Instagram, an endeavor that is "coming soon." As Gizmodo reported, someone has already purchased the www.TheScaramucciPost.com domain. | | Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer is also moving on from his Trump administration days.
The Institute of Politics, or IOP, at Harvard Kennedy School announced Spicey is joining the class of visiting fellows for the 2017-18 academic year. Other fellows include Mayor Sly James, Jr., Chelsea Manning and Robby Mook.
"Broadening the range and depth of opportunity for students to hear from and engage with experts, leaders and policy-shapers is a cornerstone of the Institute of Politics," Bill Delahunt, IOP acting director, said in a news release. "We welcome the breadth of thought-provoking viewpoints on race, gender, politics and the media."
Previously announced visiting fellows include: Guy Benson and Mary Katharine Ham, Gov. Steven Beshear, Cornell William Brooks, Corey Lewandowski, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, and Joe Slade White. | | As Washington Examiner reporter Kelly Cohen noticed on Twitter, "the number of weed puns in Sen. Orrin Hatch's medical marijuana bill announcement are amazing."
Can you spot them all?
FYI, Matt Whitlock, Hatch's spokesman, told Saba in an email: "Sen. Hatch has a great sense of humor. While this is a serious bill dealing with serious issues, particularly in Utah, he felt that the best way to ensure it received the attention required for a thorough and robust debate was with a bit of good-natured humor, similar to that of his social media platforms." | | | Since Sen. Bernie Sanders unveiled his new "Medicare for All" bill Wednesday, here's a throwback to his debate mic fix. Happy Hump Day, make sure to tell everyone you know to subscribe. | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Follow this link for daily coverage of the world's top stories, savvy market insights, an insider's look into the media, and more. Our authors for The Point are Chris Cillizza and Saba Hamedy. Send your tips and thoughts via email to Chris or Saba. Follow on Twitter: Chris and Saba. | | | Get the Nightcap, a comprehensive summary of the most important political news, delivered to your inbox daily. | | | | | |
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