The TAKE with Rick Klein
President Donald Trump has grown used to smashing norms and conventions — and Washington and the world have adjusted, or not, accordingly.
But his biggest clash may still be ahead of him. The chaos inside the president’s legal team, the wild ride Rudy Giuliani is already leading it on, and the conflicting signals and veiled threats flowing via tweets and congressional rumblings — it all points to a more confrontational White House stance in the Robert Mueller probe.
Just hours before the announcement that Ty Cobb would be leaving the White House legal team, Cobb said on ABC’s “Powerhouse Politics” podcast that Mueller is “doing what he was assigned to do.” He added that he had “no doubt” that the leak of Mueller’s potential questions for Trump did not come from Mueller’s team.
Now Cobb exits, while Giuliani — who recently called it a “disgrace” that the Mueller probe hasn’t already concluded, and dropped a new bomb in the Stormy Daniels matter Wednesday night — is trying to negotiate potential presidential cooperation.
Cobb will be replaced by Emmet Flood, a former Clinton impeachment lawyer whom the White House stated will “represent the president and the administration against the Russia witch hunt.”
Legal bedrocks and constitutional principles could be in play soon around attempts to obtain testimony from the president. And Trump may just be getting started: “At some point I will have no choice but to use the powers granted to the Presidency and get involved!” he tweeted.
The RUNDOWN with MaryAlice Parks
Five days out from primary elections in West Virginia and voters in the Mountain State have one thing on their minds: jobs.
Russia? Collusion? White House drama and dysfunction? None of it seems to be top of mind or part of the political conversation here.
We spent yesterday driving through the southern part of the state, in the heart of coal country, where talk about the economy is nuanced, and complicated.
People we spoke with seemed to be striving for a balance: saving some coal jobs, bringing others back, and, maybe most important, trying to figure out what new jobs might look like.
And they are looking for leaders in Washington who can help.
Don Blankenship, a former coal company CEO, has been surging lately in the Republican Senate primary despite his rocky past, having served time in prison after a deadly explosion at one of his company’s mines in 2010. Some voters we spoke with — who live just miles from where the accident occurred — told us they thought he was unjustly blamed. Many still view him as a savvy businessman.
Asked if coal is still the answer, even some proud former miners will just shake their heads. New coal jobs won’t last, we were told over and over again. But which leader is best suited to cultivate the next great job creator? Voters get a say next Tuesday.
The TIP with Alisa Wiersema
With less than a week until the end of Indiana’s bitter primary season, one Republican Senate hopeful is already looking toward 2019. That is the earliest President Trump is eligible for the Nobel Peace Prize, which Rep. Luke Messer has been calling for since Trump announced in March he plans to hold talks with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.
On Wednesday, Rep. Messer submitted a formal nomination letter, co-signed by 17 other House members, to the Nobel committee. It calls for the president to be recognized for his “work to end the Korean War, denuclearize the Korean peninsula, and bring peace to the region.”
“Just weeks ago, no one would have believed the North and South Korean leaders could even meet, let alone publicly embrace. All of these events are a direct result of President Trump’s strong leadership,” Rep. Messer said in a statement to ABC News.
One of Rep. Messer’s rivals in the Indiana GOP Senate primary said he agrees with his House colleague about Trump deserving the prize if talks with North Korea are a success, but added a jab, too.
“I think if one president can get a Nobel Peace Prize simply by being elected, certainly this president, if these talks progress and bear fruit, should,” Rep. Todd Rokita told ABC News. “Beyond the gimmicky way that Luke Messer is doing it, we have a serious foreign policy issue here.”
The two sitting House members, along with businessman Mike Braun, are vying for the chance to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly. The Indiana Senate Republican primary is next Tuesday, May 8th.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I have a high degree of confidence that — that’s not the case.” —Outgoing White House lawyer Ty Cobb when asked on ABC’s “Powerhouse Politics” podcast if Mueller’s team leaked a list of possible questions for the president.
NEED TO READ
Giuliani says Trump reimbursed Cohen for $130K payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. Former New York City Mayor and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani told Fox News on Wednesday night that Donald Trump has reimbursed his personal attorney Michael Cohen for the $130,000 that was paid to porn star Stormy Daniels shortly before the presidential election. (John Santucci) https://abcn.ws/2FD7stL
EXCLUSIVE: Special counsel interview with Trump ‘not off the table’: outgoing White House attorney Ty Cobb says. Outgoing White House lawyer Ty Cobb told ABC News during an exclusive interview that a presidential interview with special counsel Robert Mueller has not been ruled out. (Jonathan Karl, Rick Klein and Katherine Faulders) https://abcn.ws/2JNC26y
‘It’s all about collusion’: Former Trump adviser details interview with special counsel’s team. Former Trump campaign aide Michael Caputo tells ABC News special counsel Robert Mueller’s team is still very much focused on whether there was collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 election. (Pierre Thomas, Lucien Bruggeman and Ali Dukakis) https://abcn.ws/2IbRTi3
Mueller told Trump’s lawyers he could ‘compel’ president to testify via subpoena. Special Counsel Robert Mueller told Donald Trump’s legal team directly he could “compel” the president to testify via a grand jury subpoena if Trump declined a potential request for an interview, two sources told ABC News. (Katherine Faulders and John Santucci) https://abcn.ws/2JMlDit
With Ty Cobb’s departure, Trump’s legal shuffle continues. With White House lawyer Ty Cobb announcing he plans to retire at the end of the month, so begins another round of shakeups. (John Santucci and Katherine Faulders) https://abcn.ws/2IcGAGx
Trump Organization lawyer disputes doctor’s account of ‘raid’ for president’s medical records. The Trump Organization Wednesday disputed an account by the president’s former personal doctor that his office was “raided” in 2017 to collect President Donald Trump’s medical records while confirming its chief legal officer was involved in the seizure. (Alexander Mallin) https://abcn.ws/2rhknwj
Trump honors teacher of the year, doesn’t mention she teaches immigrant students. The National Teacher of the Year, who teaches English and math to newly-arrived refugee and immigrant students at a high school in Washington state, hand-delivered letters from her immigrant and refugee students to President Donald Trump before a White House event in her honor on Wednesday. (Jordyn Phelps) https://abcn.ws/2HOryaA
EPA under investigation for violating anti-lobbying rule: union official. A federal government watchdog is investigating whether the Environmental Protection Agency broke an anti-lobbying law when it tweeted about Democratic efforts to block Senate confirmation of a nominee for a top agency post. (Stephanie Ebbs) https://abcn.ws/2rj52eD
Indiana congressman, 17 colleagues, nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize. Indiana Republican Congressman Luke Messer formally nominated President Donald Trump for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to get North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to give up his nuclear weapons program. (John Verhovek) https://abcn.ws/2HJi3t1
Sessions sending more feds to border to help process ‘caravan’ immigrants. The Justice Department is sending a battalion of federal prosecutors and immigration judges to the Southwest border to deal with a backlog of cases made worse by the so-called “caravan” of Central Americans that arrived at the U.S. border days ago, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Wednesday. (Mike Levine) https://abcn.ws/2JPRqPP
Texas leads charge as 7 states sue Trump administration to end DACA. Seven states, led by Texas, have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program — launching a new front in the fight over the Obama-era immigration policy. (Kendall Karson) https://abcn.ws/2wdoGOK
Buzzfeed reports a Republican donor is aiming to influence Ohio’s competitive Democratic gubernatorial primary set for Tuesday by attacking the establishment’s preferred candidate — from the left. https://bzfd.it/2w71Fgw
The quinquennial reapproval of the Farm Bill is back before Congress, and The Atlantic details how the draft under consideration in the House will implement sweeping changes—including strengthened work requirements in the SNAP program—in nutrition-program eligibility. https://theatln.tc/2joihY0
The Note is a daily ABC News feature that highlights the key political moments of the day ahead. Please check back tomorrow for the latest.
