Trump After Dark: Moscow Rules edition

President Trump flew to Utah today, but it was that Russia continued to hang over his White House like a gray cloud.

Over the weekend, Trump responded to guilty plea of his former national security adviser Michael Flynn by suggesting that he fired Flynn, in part, because he knew he had lied to the FBI. Today, Trump’s personal lawyer John Dowd took credit for the tweet even as it set off questions about whether a president could actually obstruct justice.


Dowd argued that one cannot. Other legal experts disagree.

Within Trump’s own Cabinet, Attorney General Jeff Sessions believed, at one time, that presidents can obstruct justice. As POLITICO’s Kyle Cheney reports, Sessions laid out an impassioned case as an Alabama senator in 1999 that President Bill Clinton had committed obstruction — and should be removed from office.

“The facts are disturbing and compelling on the President's intent to obstruct justice,” he said, according to remarks in the congressional record.

Meanwhile, Vice President Mike Pence and his staff have been giving it their best effort to make sure everyone knows he knew nothing, nothing at all when it comes to Russia, POLITICO’s Matthew Nussbaum reports.

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“Pence’s aides have maintained for months that their man was out of the loop, blissfully ignorant to contacts between the Trump campaign and various foreign actors, from the Russian ambassador to WikiLeaks. Their story has been consistent, even as it has left outside observers wondering how Trump’s running mate and transition head could have known so little.”

Elsewhere in President Trump’s orbit:

BAN NO LONGER BANNED: President Trump’s travel ban won a significant victory at the Supreme Court today as the justices allowed full implementation of the current version of the restrictions even as appeals continue.

MONUMENT MAN: President Trump traveled to Utah today where he announced he was stripping protections from 2 million acres of land. The parcels had been designated as national monuments under President Clinton and President Obama.

MOORE TO SAY: President Trump went a step further today, endorsing Alabama GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore who has been accused of inappropriate behavior with teenagers when he was a 30-something district attorney.

SHUTDOWN RESET: Democrats and President Trump restarted talks today to avert a government shutdown. Negotiations broke down last week after an acrimonious exchange of insults.

OP-ED OOPS: Prosecutors want to revoke a bail agreement with Paul Manafort after they say he tried to ghostwrite an op-ed about his work in Ukraine along with a Russia-based colleague, aruging that it violates the terms of a gag order in his case.

JUST RUSSIAN TO FINISH?: Senate Democrats expressed concern that Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee aren’t all that committed to their investigation of President Trump and his campaigns ties to Russia.

There you have it. You’re caught up on the Trump administration. Monday is finished.

