Today’s Agenda: Echoes Of Watergate?

By Kate Riga, John Light and Caitlin MacNeal

June 10, 2019 8:31 a.m.

Happy Monday, June 10. Echoes of Watergate will reverberate through the House today, as John Dean makes an appearance to talk obstruction of justice before the Judiciary Committee. Here’s more on that and the other story we’re watching.

Two Things We’re Watching Today

House hearing on obstruction

The House Judiciary Committee will hold its first hearing in a series on obstruction of justice today at 2 p.m. ET. John Dean, the former White House counsel who turned on President Nixon and testified against key officials involved in the Watergate scandal, will testify at today’s hearing (Trump is displeased).

Bipartisan backlash against Saudi Arabian arms sales

Republican Senators are joining their Democratic colleagues to block the administration’s arms sales to Saudi Arabia, in part because of the slaying of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Historically, Trump has not responded well to anything but monolithic loyalty from his party, so we’ll be watching how he reacts to the insurrection.

Today’s Rundown

2:30 p.m. ET House gavels in.

3:00 p.m. ET Senate gavels in.

3:00 p.m. ET Trump hosts a meeting on Major League Baseball’s efforts to combat human trafficking in the Oval Office.

4:00 p.m. ET Trump greets the 103rd Indianapolis 500 Champions, Team Penske, in the Oval Office.

This Weekend’s Most-Read Story

Some Maine Republicans Fret New State Ballad Is Too Hard On The Confederacy — Caitlin MacNeal

Reading List

The Making Of A YouTube Radical — Kevin Roose, The New York Times

Warren’s nonstop ideas reshape the Democratic presidential race — and give her new momentum — Michael Scherer, The Washington Post

Google Made $4.7 Billion From the News Industry in 2018, Study Says — Marc Tracy, The New York Times

Company part-owned by Jared Kushner got $90m from unknown offshore investors since 2017 – Jon Swaine, The Guardian

Banned from guns, Texas gave him a license anyway. Citizens paid the price. — Eric Dexheimer, The Houston Chronicle

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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