Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Peter Strzok had quite a day on Capitol Hill: “Deepening tension between congressional Republicans and the Justice Department erupted in full public view Thursday, as a senior FBI agent sparred with lawmakers who suggested his bias against President Trump tainted the department’s Russia investigation.”
* Family separations: “The Trump administration has reunited 57 migrant children under age 5 with their parents as of Thursday morning, one day after the court-ordered deadline, but 12 parents who have been deported remain separated from their young children.”
* Before the NATO story starts to fade from public view, Donald Trump was asked this morning whether he has the authority to abandon the alliance without congressional support. “I think I probably can, but that’s unnecessary,” the president responded.
* At the same press conference, a reporter asked him whether he’ll say one thing to the press, and then tweet something else once he’s on Air Force One? “No, that’s other people that do that,” Trump replied. “I don’t. I’m very consistent. I’m a very stable genius.”
* Unexpected: “The Justice Department will appeal the AT&T-Time Warner merger approval, according to a court document filed Thursday.”
* Papa John’s founder John Schnatter “resigned as chairman of the company Wednesday amid growing backlash over his use of the n-word during a conference call in May.”
* Is Trump trying to gaslight the soybean farmers? It sure looks like it.
* On this, Gov. Kay Ivey (R) made the right call: “Alabama’s governor has begun to cut off a gravy train for the state’s sheriffs: the unspent money for prisoners’ meals that the sheriffs have long been allowed to keep for themselves.”
* Someone should let the White House know: “The tax cuts Republicans enacted in late 2017 will likely provide less of a boost to economic growth than many forecasters predict — and possibly none at all — economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco said Monday.” * An anti-antifa bill? Seriously? “Republican Congressmen have introduced legislation that would make it a crime, punishable by more than a decade in prison, for protesters to cover their faces during demonstrations.” * I hope this isn’t real: “President Trump wants to update the paint job on the next version of Air Force One, ditching the iconic robin’s-egg blue (which he calls a ‘Jackie Kennedy color’) for a bolder, ‘more American’ look.” * An investigation worth watching: “The federal government has quietly revived its investigation into the murder of Emmett Till, the 14-year-old African-American boy whose abduction and killing in 1955 remains among the starkest and most searing examples of racial violence in the South.” 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
