Comey's Moment, Theresa May's Fall By Emily Goodin
Two events shook the political world on Thursday – former FBI Director James Comey’s testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee and Theresa May’s Conservative Party flailing in the U.K. elections. Spotlight on Comey: RealClearPolitics’ Alexis Simendinger notes that Comey’s testimony “did not, by itself, heighten President Trump’s risks of confronting obstruction-of-justice charges or articles of impeachment. But it did inflame ferocious new rounds of political mud-slinging in the wake of Comey’s vivid account of a president who pressed him to conclude a federal probe; privately and improperly went to bat for a former White House adviser who is in serious legal jeopardy; and ‘defamed’ Comey when he feared the FBI’s Russia investigation would damage him and stall his policy agenda. Because Trump’s risks are political more than legal, the weight of Thursday’s testimony was impossible to gauge without knowing where multiple investigations and conclusions land.” http://bit.ly/2sKy1Id ICYMI: RCP’s video team has posted the full Comey testimony. http://bit.ly/2r9pcdT The team also posted Trump lawyer Marc Kasowitz’s post-Comey press conference http://bit.ly/2r2BqRo Trump Tweets: The president notably didn’t tweet during the hearing but he broke his silence in the early hours of Friday morning to declare himself vindicated. He also referenced Comey’s admission he had a friend leak what he had written down following conversations with the president in the hopes of instigating the appointment of a special counsel: “Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication...and WOW, Comey is a leaker!” http://bit.ly/2slqimC Trump and the president of Romania hold a joint press conference Friday afternoon, scheduled to begin at 2:45 p.m. ET. Across the Pond: British PM Theresa May has said she will ask the Queen to allow her to form a minority government. May called the election three years earlier than required “expecting to consolidate a strong majority for her Conservative Party in the House of Commons.” http://bit.ly/2r2CiFN She failed. Epically. RealClearWorld has complete coverage. http://bit.ly/2rIP9jh Polls Were Tight: RealClearWorld’s U.K. Polling Average showed the race tightening in its closing days. http://bit.ly/2sKnAob Topics du Jour Trump Job Approval: His rating is at a negative-16.3 points in the RealClearPolitics Polling Average. http://bit.ly/2slB9gm
Georgia Special: Vice President Mike Pence is in Georgia on Friday to campaign for Karen Handel, who’s running in a special election to replace former Rep. Tom Price following his confirmation as secretary of Health and Human Services. Her Democratic opponent, Jon Ossoff, is up by 2.4 points in the RCP average on the race. The election is June 20. http://bit.ly/2r2B79b
By the Numbers: At RealClearHealth, the American Enterprise Institute’s James Capretta urges lawmakers to listen to the Congressional Budget Office on the GOP’s health care bill, even if its analysis isn’t exactly what they wanted to hear. http://bit.ly/2rwJIDU
Army’s High Tech Push: At RealClearDefense, Sandra Erwin points out that “an eye-opening item in the 2018 defense budget request is the serious money that the U.S. Army is pumping into its arsenal of high-tech missiles and munitions.” http://bit.ly/2sfIDl0 In Other Originals
D-Day Remembrance: June 6 marked the anniversary of the storming of the beaches at Normandy during World War II. Author Christopher Kelly remembers the day for RealClearHistory and notes: “Imagine if an operation like the Normandy landing were to occur today … in the age of social media! Interactive polls would ask: “Which beach do you prefer, Normandy or Pas de Calais?” http://bit.ly/2rXl0hl
The Ideas Industry: At RealClearWorld, the Atlantic Council’s James Joyner reviews Daniel Drezner’s book “The Ideas Industry: How Pessimists, Partisans, and Plutocrats Are Transforming the Marketplace of Ideas.” He notes Drezner’s “central theme is that the media and economic environment has changed from one that rewards public intellectuals (‘experts who are versed and trained enough to be able to comment on a wide range of policy issues’) to one that elevates ‘thought leaders’ (‘intellectual evangelists’ who ‘develop their own singular lens to explain the world, and then proselytize that worldview to anyone within earshot’).” http://bit.ly/2rVetCW
War Games: At RealClearDefense, Scott McPherson and Albert J. Shimkus of the Naval War College examine the loyalty conflicts members of the armed services have to deal with while performing their duties. http://bit.ly/2rHCHi0
Saving Up: RealClearMarkets editor John Tamny points out that because savings are great for the individual, they're by extension great for the overall economy, despite warnings to the contrary. http://bit.ly/2rPuv1e
Press Pass: At RealClearLife, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter David A. Vise looks at the media’s use anonymous sources and how the press can use them in ways that will be unbiased while also avoiding major mistakes. http://bit.ly/2sbr5qp
Weekend Reading: At RealClearBooks, Nicholas Evan Sarantakes reviews John A. Farrell’s new Richard Nixon biography, noting that Farrell “does an impressive job, giving his readers an honest and human understanding of Nixon in the highly readable ‘Richard Nixon: The Life.’” http://bit.ly/2rdO2UW
Wonder Women: RealClearLife editor Ethan Sacks writes that the success of the “Wonder Woman” film could change the script for female directors. http://bit.ly/2r2i1Er
Aliens Not Among Us: RealClearScience editor Ross Pomeroy examines why we haven’t found extraterrestrials including the possibility that they may be here already (and are just not telling us). http://bit.ly/2swuey8
Shoot, Score: RealClearSports’ editors Cory Gunkel and Ben Krimmel debate whether Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors killed the NBA. http://bit.ly/2sfY6RT
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