Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Guess who’ll have more on this at 9 p.m. (ET) on MSNBC: “Federal prosecutors recommended Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former attorney, serve a ‘substantial term of imprisonment’ after he pleaded guilty to eight felony charges according to a sentencing memo released Friday.”
* A verdict in Charlottesville: “James Alex Fields Jr. has been found guilty of first-degree murder in the car attack that killed Heather Heyer and injured dozens of people protesting a white supremacist rally on Aug. 12, 2017. A jury also found him guilty of five counts of aggravated malicious wounding, three counts of malicious wounding and one count of hit-and-run.”
* What a waste: “Republicans spent much of Friday trying to wring new information from former FBI Director James Comey during an all-day deposition — but identified little new ground after six hours of free-wheeling inquiries.”
* Wall Street: “The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 558 points on Friday, capping a wild week of trading that saw the blue-chip index lose close to 5 percent of its value. It was the worst week for the Dow since March, and erased all gains for the year.”
* The Whitaker mess: “President Donald Trump may have a pick he plans to nominate to be attorney general, but his Justice Department has yet to file the required paperwork that states Jeff Sessions has left the office.”
* In related news: “A Justice Department ethics office has received requests for advice and issued guidance concerning acting attorney general Matthew G. Whitaker’s involvement in the special counsel’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election, according to Justice Department records.”
* A demotion: “The role of United Nations ambassador will once again be a non-Cabinet position following Nikki Haley’s exit, a senior administration official and a source with direct knowledge tell NBC News.”
* A stunning revelation: “Investigators revealed that CBS continues to pay out a settlement to a woman who claimed that [’60 Minutes’ creator/producer Don Hewitt] sexually assaulted her on repeated occasions and destroyed her career. The settlement, reached in the 1990s, has been amended multiple times, including this year. In total, CBS has agreed to pay the former employee more than $5 million.” * Hmm: “Just days before the migrant caravan set out from Honduras, an imposter stole the identity of a prominent early supporter on Facebook, using a fake account to try to boost the caravan’s numbers.” * Zinke’s Department of Interior strikes again: “At the beginning of the year, nearly all the members of a federally chartered board that advises the National Park Service quit in frustration after they felt the new administration was ignoring them. Nearly a year later, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has resurrected the national parks board and filled its ranks with several business executives including a few major Republican donors.” * Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), who lost re-election last month, is now “pursuing his next act: Hollywood screenwriter.” Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past." Recommended
