Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s remarks on this were not accompanied by evidence: “An American-guided missile destroyer was sent to assist two burning tankers in the Gulf of Oman, following what the Trump administration on Thursday described as a ‘blatant assault’ by Iran.”
* Now that the White House has effectively ended press briefings, I guess the question is whether she’ll be replaced: “White House press secretary Sarah Sanders is leaving her post at the end of June, President Donald Trump said Thursday.”
* Flint: “Prosecutors investigating the deadly lead-poisoned water crisis in Flint, Michigan, dropped criminal charges against eight people, including the former head of the state’s health department.”
* Subpoenas of note: “The House Intelligence Committee has issued subpoenas for former national security adviser Michael Flynn and former deputy Trump campaign chairman Rick Gates, two of former special counsel Robert Mueller’s most important cooperators.”
* Investigating the investigators: “Justice Department officials intend to interview senior C.I.A. officers as they review the Russia investigation, according to people briefed on the matter, indicating they are focused partly on the intelligence agencies’ most explosive conclusion about the 2016 election: that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia intervened to benefit Donald J. Trump.”
* Schiff talked about this on the show last night: “House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) on Wednesday threatened to subpoena the FBI for information about the original counterintelligence investigation into Russian interference. Schiff said he has been unable to get briefings or information on the status or findings of the counterintelligence probe, including on whether it was ever shuttered.” * In the current administration, this is not a great job: “President Donald Trump intends to appoint Eric Ueland, a senior White House aide with vast experience in the Senate, as the next director of legislative affairs at the White House.” * The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties has scheduled this hearing for next Wednesday: “The topic of reparations for slavery is headed to Capitol Hill for its first hearing in more than a decade with writer Ta-Nehisi Coates and actor Danny Glover set to testify before a House panel.” 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
