Today’s Agenda: Democrats Look Outside The White House For Witnesses

By Kate Riga, John Light and Caitlin MacNeal

June 17, 2019 8:23 a.m.

Happy Monday, June 17. Democrats are trying a new strategy to dodge President Donald Trump’s executive privilege claims. Here’s more on that and the other stories we’re watching.

Four Things We’re Watching Today

Democrats look outside White House for witnesses

Democrats are tired of Trump claiming executive privilege to stymy their investigations. So now, they’re looking to call witnesses — think campaign officials — who were mentioned in special counsel Robert Mueller’s report but who never served in the White House. Trump’s lawyers seem to be taking a defensive posture already.

Reverberations from Trump’s TV time

President Trump made some waves last week in TV interviews by attacking Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden, suggesting former White House counsel Don McGahn lied under oath, saying he’d happily accept dirt on a political opponent from a foreign national and scolding Mick Mulvaney for coughing in his presence. We’ll be watching the ripples from that today.

Congressional leadership will take another run at a spending bill

Though the last spending negotiation session went up in flames, congressional leaders are planning to meet with White House officials this week to make another go at it. Right now, the two sides seem miles apart on budgetary priorities.

Iran to exceed stockpile limit

Iran announced that it will supersede its nuclear stockpile limit in the next ten days. The news comes on the heels of an attack on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman, which Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has been accusing Iran of carrying out.

Today’s Rundown

The House and Senate are out, the President does not have any public appearances.

This Weekend’s Most-Read Story

Trump Announced Tom Homan As The New ‘Border Czar.’ Homan Says No Thanks. — Cristina Cabrera

Reading List

The One Percent Have Gotten $21 Trillion Richer Since 1989. The Bottom 50% Have Gotten Poorer. — Eric Levitz, New York Magazine

As price of insulin soars, Americans caravan to Canada for lifesaving medicine – Emily Rauhala, The Washington Post

Wall Street Donors Are Swooning for Mayor Pete. (They Like Biden and Harris, Too.) — Shane Goldmacher, New York Times

Welcome to Trump Heights, the Israeli Town That Doesn’t Exist — Noa Landau, Haaretz

Kate Riga (@Kate_Riga24) Kate Riga is a news writer for Talking Points Memo based in New York City. Before joining TPM, Kate was the political reporter for The Southampton Press. She is a graduate of Georgetown University and a native of Philadelphia.

John Light (@LightTweeting) John is TPM's editor for Prime & Special Projects. His work has also appeared at The Atlantic, Reuters, Mother Jones, Salon, Slate, UN Dispatch, Vox, Worth, City & State and Al Jazeera, and has been broadcast on Public Radio International. Before joining TPM, John was a producer for Bill Moyers and WNYC, and worked as a news writer for Grist. He grew up in New Jersey, studied history and film at Oberlin College, and got his master‘s degree in journalism from Columbia University.

Caitlin MacNeal (@caitlinmacneal) Caitlin MacNeal is an assistant editor based in Washington, D.C. Before joining TPM, Caitlin interned and wrote for the Huffington Post, the Sunlight Foundation and Slate. She is a graduate of Georgetown University.

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