| We can't remember the last week it didn't feel like we were drinking news from a fire hose, but this one felt more full-blast than usual. To piece it all together, we'll take it in reverse order, "Memento"-style, except with tweets instead of tattoos and Polaroids. Let's scroll down through the week ... |
| Friday: The blush is off the Rosenstein |
| Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who has led the FBI since the firing of Director James Comey, faced President Trump's Twitter ire this morning. You might recall that last month, Rosenstein wrote a memo critical of Comey's investigation of Hillary Clinton. You might also recall that Trump told NBC's Lester Holt that Rosenstein's memo had nothing to do with his decision to fire Comey. |
| Regardless, Trump now seems a little miffed at Rosenstein because Rosenstein's special counsel appointee, Robert Mueller, is investigating Trump over his campaign's ties to Russia. But we're getting ahead of ourselves! Let's wait until we reverse back to Tuesday. |
| It wasn't an altogether awful week for Trump, though. Rasmussen's poll of likely voters showed Trump at 50% approval, the first time since April he's been backed by at least half of respondents to the poll. |
| Thursday: Play ball! |
| Thursday night, Trump questioned that the Russia investigation is now looking at obstruction of justice after the "phony collusion with the Russians story ... found zero proof." (It's worth noting that the investigation that led to the impeachment of President Clinton started out as an investigation into the Clintons' real estate investments, access to FBI files and firing of White House Travel Office employees, but ended up being about a blue dress.) |
| Oh, and Rosenstein had things to say Thursday night -- basically, quit trusting anonymous sources. "Americans should exercise caution before accepting as true any stories attributed to anonymous 'officials,' particularly when they do not identify the country - let alone the branch or agency of government - with which the alleged sources supposedly are affiliated," Rosenstein said in a statement. |
| Meanwhile, congressional Republicans and Democrats gathered at Nationals Park to play in their annual baseball game, which took on enhanced meaning a day after a gunman opened fire at a Republican baseball practice session. The Democrats claimed victory, but handed the trophy to their GOP colleagues to place in the office of wounded Rep. Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana), who is still in a D.C. hospital following multiple surgeries. |
| Wednesday: 'He wanted to know if it was Republicans or Democrats that were out there' |
| A gunman opened fire at a practice session for the Republican congressional baseball team, wounding five, including Scalise, the House majority whip. The shooter, 66-year-old James T. Hodgkinson of Illinois, died in a shootout with Capitol Police. Hodgkinson had ranted about Scalise as well as President Trump in Facebook posts over the past few years. |
| Two Capitol Police special agents, Crystal Griner and David Bailey, were among the five injured. "Our lives were saved by the Capitol Police. Had they not been there I think it would have been a massacre," said Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky). "The field, I mean, was basically a killing field." |
| Tuesday: We have no recollection of Tuesday, but it might have happened |
| Attorney General Jeff Sessions appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee and called allegations of collusion with the Russians while he worked on Trump's 2016 campaign an appalling and detestable lie. "I did not have any private meetings nor do I recall any conversations with any Russian officials at the Mayflower Hotel," Sessions testified. |
| So how did it go? Sessions crushed it! Or he withered under the questioning of Sen. Kamala Harris (D-California)! It really depends on which media bubble you're living in. |
| More Russia: Rob Rosenstein (remember him, from a few paragraphs up?) said despite complaints about special counsel Robert Mueller, there was no reason for his dismissal. Trump spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said they weren't thinking about firing him, but they totally could. |
| North Korea released American Otto Warmbier, who was imprisoned on charges of stealing a hotel sign while in the country. Celebration quickly turned to sorrow when we learned that Warmbier suffered from Unresponsive Wakefulness Syndrome. Warmbier's father thanked Trump and Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), but blasted President Obama for not doing more when Warmbier was first detained. |
| Monday: Ban stalls out again |
| We all knew the travel ban from six Muslim-majority countries would wind up in the U.S. Supreme Court eventually, but the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals made it all but inevitable on Monday. The 78-page decision even cited Trump tweets about the ban and "extreme vetting." The court contended that the travel ban would discriminate based on travelers' nationality without improving security. Now, it's Neil Gorsuch et al. to determine whether or not the policy is legit, and based on the ruling, it looks like the Supreme Court will have to make the call within 90 days. |
| And way, way more |
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