Today’s edition of quick hits:
* He said surprisingly little: “Rudy Giuliani issued a statement Friday attempting to clarify remarks he’d made in recent days about a $130,000 payment that lawyer Michael Cohen made to porn star Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election.”
* This mess isn’t over: “Vice President Mike Pence’s White House doctor, who raised concerns about disgraced White House physician Ronny Jackson, resigned Friday.”
* Scary: “Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano erupted Friday morning for the third time as authorities confirmed at least two homes were ‘touched by the lava flow’ after hundreds of residents were forced to flee.”
* Someone will talk him out of this, right? “President Trump has ordered the Pentagon to prepare options for drawing down American troops in South Korea, just weeks before he holds a landmark meeting with North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, according to several people briefed on the deliberations.”
* Decisions like these are now common, but cruel: “The Trump administration is shutting off protections for people who have lived in the United States for nearly two decades and has started the clock on their forced return to violence-plagued, politically volatile and poverty-stricken Honduras.”
* Quite an exodus: “EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s inner circle continued to shrink Friday with the departure of yet another political aide — the fourth staffer to exit the agency this week amid the ongoing investigations into Pruitt’s expensive travel and security spending and his tight relations with lobbyists. Sources close to EPA expect more political appointees to join the exodus soon.”
* Missouri lawmakers “say they have the signatures necessary to call for a special session to consider impeaching Gov. Eric Greitens.” * Interesting odds: “As Rudy Giuliani enters the center ring of the legal fight between President Donald Trump and special counsel Robert Mueller, the former New York City mayor is already anticipating one possible battle – a subpoena for President Trump to testify. “I think it’s 50/50,” Giuliani, the president’s personal attorney, told ABC News regarding the possibility of a subpoena.” * The right still thinks California is a high-tax hellscape and Brexit was wise: “California’s economy has surpassed that of the United Kingdom to become the world’s fifth largest, according to new federal data made public Friday.” 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
