Today’s edition of quick hits:
* I’ll have more on the Horowitz report in the morning: “The FBI mishandled parts of its application to monitor a Trump campaign aide as it was probing possible Russian interference in the 2016 election, but the overall investigation was justified, according to a long-awaited report by the Justice Department’s watchdog that rebuts the president’s depiction of a politically biased plot against him.”
* The U.S. policy is failing: “North Korea said Sunday it carried out a ‘very important test’ at its long-range rocket launch site that it reportedly rebuilt after having partially dismantled it when it entered denuclearization talks with the United States last year.”
* On a related note: “North Korea insulted President Donald Trump again Monday, calling him a ‘thoughtless and sneaky old man’ after he tweeted that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wouldn’t want to abandon a special relationship between the two leaders and affect the American presidential election by resuming hostile acts.”
* U.S. officials knew we weren’t making progress in Afghanistan, but they misled everyone anyway: “A trove of government documents shows that U.S. officials systematically misled the public about the war in Afghanistan during three presidential administrations, The Washington Post reported in an explosive story Monday.”
* The latest step backward for NATO: “The United States ambassador to Denmark barred an American NATO expert critical of President Trump from speaking at an international conference hosted by the American embassy and a Danish think tank, prompting the event’s cancellation, organizers said.”
* In case you missed this on Friday: “A national security aide to Vice President Mike Pence submitted additional classified evidence to House impeachment investigators about a phone call between Pence and Ukraine’s president, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff revealed Friday.”
* The number of signatories is now over 750: “More than 500 legal scholars have signed on to an open letter asserting that President Trump committed ‘impeachable conduct’ and that lawmakers would be acting well within their rights if they ultimately voted to remove him from office.”
* Trump referred to himself on Saturday as the “greatest of all presidents.” Seriously. * What could possibly go wrong? “Two top government officials with broad cybersecurity and election-integrity portfolios have announced they are stepping down this month, a loss of expertise in a critical area less than a year before the 2020 presidential election.” * Another unflattering report for Seema Verma: “A top Trump health appointee sought to have taxpayers reimburse her for the costs of jewelry, clothing and other possessions, including a $5,900 Ivanka Trump-brand pendant, that were stolen while in her luggage during a work-related trip, according to documents obtained by POLITICO.” See you tomorrow.
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
