The Daily 202: Bill Cosby’s conviction is a watershed. It also shows how hard it is to hold alleged abusers accountable.

Bill Cosby’s conviction is a watershed. It also shows how hard it is to hold alleged abusers accountable. Bill Cosby found guilty in sexual assault trial BY JAMES HOHMANN with Breanne Deppisch and Joanie Greve THE BIG IDEA: The cold hand of justice finally caught up with Bill Cosby. The 80-year-old comedian could receive as many as 30 years for the three counts of sexual assault he was convicted of Thursday in Pennsylvania, which would be tantamount to a life sentence. This is a watershed moment that represents one of the biggest downfalls in entertainment history. The onetime Jell-O pitchman, who made Dr. Cliff Huxtable so endearing on “The Cosby Show,” was a pioneer to the last generation and became a villain to this one. It was a retrial. Last summer, the jury hung after six days of deliberations. This time, a jury of seven men and five women took less than two days to convict. In between then and now, revelations about producer Harvey Weinstein helped spark a cultural awakening. This makes Cosby the first star to face criminal consequences for sexual misconduct in the #MeToo era, but several elements of his case also underscore the continuing challenges of holding alleged abusers accountable. Since late 2014, at least 60 women have come forward to accuse Cosby of sexual misconduct. Some have described episodes that took place as far back as the 1960s. Andrea Constand is the only woman whose experience has led to criminal charges against Cosby. She was a Temple University employee, more than three decades younger, when she says he lured her into his home with promises of mentorship, then drugged and assaulted her. The assault happened in 2004. Constand brought a civil case against Cosby 13 years ago. But prosecutors did not file charges until 2015, just before Pennsylvania’s 12-year statute of limitations expired. Several states have either abolished or extended statutes of limitation for sex crimes in the past few years, largely because of lobbying campaigns inspired by Cosby’s accusers. But other places have not. New York, for example, lifted the statute of limitations for rape in 2006. “But many other felony sex crimes are subject to a strict five-year limit in New York — including [Cosby’s] particular type of very sick conduct with Constand,” the New York Daily News editorial board notes. “Had the mansion where he attacked her been just 80 miles away, Cosby might have never faced charges.” Bigger picture, the shift toward believing women who accuse powerful men of sexual misconduct has happened in stops and starts. “The truth is that it’s taken decades — or more — for a slow heat to finally boil over,” writes columnist Margaret Sullivan. “Anita Hill told her truths to a public unfamiliar even with the term sexual harassment in 1991, and the man she accused became a Supreme Court justice.” The courts have been slow to adjust. “We like to think justice is blind, but juries are made up of our peers - who are shaped by culture and long-held assumptions. So many of those have been upended,” attorney Jill Filipovic noted in a tweetstorm. “The Cosby verdict, like so many other gains in treating sexual assault like any other crime, shows how crucial it is to shift cultural norms around sex and assault, and to not assume male experience is universal, neutral, or the only legitimate experience. This is where we all have a role. Lawyers can argue cases, judges can be more equitable, legislators can write fairer and better laws. But unless we experience profound cultural shifts that makes our whole country fairer, a jury of one's peers will not render fair verdicts.” The president of the National Women’s Law Center added: From a writer for New York magazine: From a writer for Teen Vogue: A film producer replied: Scenes outside of the courtroom after Bill Cosby verdict announced -- The scene in the courtroom when the verdict was announced, via Manuel Roig-Franzia: “Two women who have accused Cosby of sexual assault but did not testify at the trial burst out in loud sobs from their seats in one of the back rows … They were escorted from the courtroom by security officials, but their tears — tears of joy, sadness and exhaustion after a frustrating years-long struggle — still filtered [in] through the closed, heavy wooden doors.… “The comedian exploded in anger as District Attorney Kevin Steele argued that Cosby has access to a private plane and should have his $1 million bail revoked because he might be a flight risk. ‘He doesn’t have a plane, you a--hole!’ Cosby shouted in an earsplitting roar that startled the courtroom and sent necks craning for a glimpse of his moment of distilled rage. ‘He doesn’t know!’ … [The judge] declined to revoke Cosby’s bail but ordered him not to leave his estate in nearby Elkins Park, Pa. “Cosby paused for a moment before leaving the courtroom. He slumped ever so slightly at the defense table. He leaned on a slender cane, his constant companion during the long courtroom battles. His public relations agent extended a hand. But … the curmudgeonly father figure of TV lore was surrounded only by people on his payroll. Attorneys and publicists encircled him, but his two adult daughters — absent throughout the trial — were nowhere to be seen. His wife, Camille, who’d appeared only for closing arguments, was not there, either. … In the front row reserved for Cosby’s supporters, there were often empty seats.” -- Here’s a sampling from social media of the relieved reaction from actresses: White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and White House Staff Secretary Rob Porter walk to Marine One on the South Lawn. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images) -- Today’s newspaper has several stories that show how men can abuse their positions of authority – big and small – and the lasting pain for victims: -- “FBI casts doubt on White House timeline involving former aide accused of spouse abuse,” by Josh Dawsey: “The White House was informed early last year about potential problems concerning the background investigation of former senior aide Rob Porter, according to the FBI, casting doubt on the Trump administration’s timeline of events. According to the FBI account provided this month to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, White House Counsel Donald McGahn first received ‘derogatory information’ about Porter in March 2017. The letter did not say what the information included, but ‘derogatory information’ often prevents individuals from receiving security clearances. “Porter, the former staff secretary, was dismissed in February [11 months later!] after his two ex-wives accused him of abuse — and pictures emerged of one with a black eye. The women had said they were interviewed by the FBI months earlier. … White House aides have said they were caught off-guard by the allegations — originally published in the Daily Mail — and took swift action. Chief of Staff John F. Kelly has said Porter was dismissed within 40 minutes of Kelly learning of the accusations, a claim that other aides have disputed. McGahn has said he was not aware of the allegations about Porter until just before they became public. A White House official has previously said the allegations did not reach McGahn, even though the FBI says the letter was addressed to him. [Porter has also denied the accusations.] “In the FBI’s telling, the White House received a completed background investigation about Porter in July. It later reopened the investigation to interview Porter’s ex-wives. By November, the FBI says, it detailed all the information to the White House, including the interviews, and closed its file in January. The White House later said the investigation into Porter was still open when he was dismissed.” Tom Brokaw is introduced before being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2014. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP, File) -- “NBC News faces skepticism in remedying in-house sexual harassment,” by Sarah Ellison: “NBC … is facing a wave of internal and outside skepticism that it can reform a workplace in which powerful men such as [Matt] Lauer were known to pursue sexual relationships with more junior women. In interviews, 35 current and former NBC staffers said that while some of these relationships were consensual, some were not. Twelve women interviewed said they were sexually harassed but did not report it. Three of the 12 told The Post about sexual advances from Lauer. One woman said that the anchor exposed himself in his office and asked her to touch him, and a second said he had sex with her in the middle of the day in his office — alleged incidents that have not been previously reported. A third woman told The Post that Lauer gave her a sex toy…” Breaking his silence, Lauer sent a statement to The Post: “I fully acknowledge that I acted inappropriately as a husband, father and principal at NBC. However I want to make it perfectly clear that any allegations or reports of coercive, aggressive or abusive actions on my part, at any time, are absolutely false.” “Lauer is not the only prominent anchor at NBC who allegedly sought inappropriate relationships with younger women. Linda Vester, a former NBC correspondent, told The Post that legendary anchor Tom Brokaw made unwanted advances toward her on two occasions in the 1990s, including a forcible attempt to kiss her. Vester was in her 20s and did not file a complaint. Brokaw denied anything untoward happened with Vester. … Another woman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, also told The Post that Brokaw acted inappropriately toward her in the ’90s, when she was a young production assistant and he was an anchor. He said no such incident happened.” Cristian Gill, 21, a cheerleading instructor, was arrested for putting a camera in a bathroom and secretly taking pictures of children and adults. (Montgomery County Police via AP) -- “Gymnastics and cheerleading instructor charged with secretly filming people in bathroom at Rockville facility,” by Dana Hedgpeth and Dan Morse: “A gymnastics and cheerleading teacher has been charged after he allegedly put video surveillance equipment in a bathroom at a cheerleading program’s facility in Rockville, Md. … [Cristian] Gill was arrested Wednesday and is being held without bond. He is charged with several counts of conducting visual surveillance of another person in a private place without consent. According to charging documents, a search of Gill’s iPhones found that he had searched the Internet for such topics as ‘spy cam in public restroom, what kind of lawyer do I need, and what kind of jail do you go to for violating video cam laws.’” -- “Mistaken D.C. alert wrongly says voyeur rabbi is leaving jail early, raising anxieties among his victims,” by Julie Zauzmer and Keith L. Alexander: “The alert went out on Wednesday, saying in an automated email to victims who had signed up for updates on the criminal case against Barry Freundel that the former Kesher Israel rabbi would be released from prison on Aug. 21 this year. Freundel was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison for videotaping 52 women undressing without their knowledge as they prepared for a Jewish ritual bath. The dozens of women who were his congregants and students — and his victims — expected he wouldn’t be released until 2021. The sudden announcement that his sentence had been cut short by almost three years sent waves of shock, fear and resentment through the community. Then on Thursday, the D.C. Department of Corrections sent another alert. The original had been a mistake. Freundel’s sentence hadn’t been changed after all.” Listen to James's quick summary of today's Big Idea and the headlines you need to know to start your day:

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING:

The historic Koreas summit, in four minutes

-- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in agreed to work toward the “common goal” of denuclearizing the peninsula after their historic summit. Anna Fifield reports: “It was a day marked by an astonishing level of congeniality between the two … It was, however, short on details as to what, exactly, “denuclearization” means for each of them. … In Friday’s declaration, Kim and Moon also agreed to work to turn the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War in 1953 into a peace treaty that would officially bring the war to a close.”

But, but, but: “The three-page Panmunjeom Declaration states that ‘South and North Korea confirmed the common goal of realizing, through complete denuclearization, a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.’ … Kim did not utter the word ‘denuclearization’ during his remarks with Moon after the signing ceremony, and the phrase ‘through complete denuclearization’ will ring alarm bells in Washington because it implies that nuclear weapons will not be allowed in South Korea either. The United States, South Korea’s security ally, regularly sends nuclear-capable aircraft and ships to the South during military exercises, so this clause will raise suspicions that North Korea is calling for a significant change in the U.S.-South Korea alliance.”

-- Kim’s visit to South Korea marked the first a North Korean leader has crossed the border since the war halted in 1953. From Anna: “[I]t was broadcast live across the country, with commuters stopping in train stations and teachers stopping classes so their students could watch the moment. Kim, wearing his trademark black Mao suit, walked down the steps of the Panmungak building on the northern side of the line that divides the peninsula and up to the concrete curb that marks the exact line. Moon was waiting for him there, his hand outstretched. They talked, smiling, for several minutes before Moon invited Kim across to the southern side. Kim accepted but, after posing for photos, invited Moon to cross back into the North with him. Moon went, and the two Korean leaders stood hand in hand in what is technically North Korea — something that would have been unthinkable even a few months ago.

“After crossing the line, Kim entered the Peace House building on the southern side of the border and signed a welcome book with the message: ‘New history from now on, [we are] at the start of a historic new peace era.’ Two North Korean security guards cleaned the chair, guest book and pen with sanitizer before Kim sat down to write the message. Once inside the meeting room, a relaxed and jovial Kim joked about bringing cold noodles from Pyongyang for Friday night’s dinner banquet and, in front of the media, gave conciliatory opening remarks. ‘Let’s hold hands and walk toward the future,’ the 34-year-old North Korean leader said.”

-- Meanwhile, the family of Otto Warmbier is suing North Korea, which could have geopolitical implications on Trump's planned summit with Kim. David Nakamura reports: “The 22-page complaint … details in blunt language how the University of Virginia student … was ‘brutally’ abused after being detained on a tour [there]." "We can never have a normal relationship with North Korea unless the human rights issues are addressed," said Victor Cha, a senior Asia policy official in the Bush administration. "We can’t sweep this under the rug.”

-- Trump reacted to news from the Korea summit over Twitter this morning:

Trader Fred DeMarco works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. (Richard Drew/AP)

-- The Commerce Department said the U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 2.3 percent in the first three months of 2018. David J. Lynch reports: “The results were slightly above Wall Street analysts’ forecasts of 2 percent annual growth rate. The analysts had anticipated a slowdown from the fourth quarter’s 2.9 percent growth rate. The Commerce Department report was the first since President Trump’s tax cut took effect on January 1. The centerpiece of the tax overhaul was a reduction in corporate taxes aimed at boosting investment and jobs. So far, there is little sign of the promised investment boom.”

Crowd erupts as Prince William, Duchess Catherine present newborn son

-- The new royal baby has a name: Louis Arthur Charles. From Karla Adam in London: “Kensington Palace said on Friday that his official title will be His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Cambridge. Louis wasn’t thought to be one of the top choices, but it’s clearly a name admired by the House of Windsor. Louis is one of Prince William and Prince George’s middle names. It’s also the name of the queen’s cousin, Lord Louis Mountbatten, whom fans of “The Crown” will know was a mentor to Prince Charles. Mountbatten was killed by an IRA bomb in 1979. Proving that the royals are fans of recycling, the middle names of the youngest royal are Arthur and Charles. Arthur is one of the middle names of William and King George VI, the queen’s beloved father. Charles is the name of the baby’s grandfather.”

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) walks to the weekly Senate Democratic policy luncheon on Capitol Hill. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters)

GET SMART FAST:​​

1. The Senate Ethics Committee “severely admonished” Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) for accepting unreported gifts from a Florida eye doctor. The panel found his actions violated federal law and Senate rules, and ordered him to repay the gifts in full. (Mike DeBonis)
2. Paul Ryan dismissed the Rev. Patrick J. Conroy as House chaplain. The decision angered some of the Jesuit priest’s allies in Congress, many of whom initially thought Conroy was leaving voluntarily. (Paul Kane)
3. Trump delayed the release of some redacted memos related to the JFK assassination until 2021. The president said the intelligence community persuaded him that their exposure could harm “identifiable national security, law enforcement, and foreign affairs concerns.” (Ian Shapira)
4. Teachers in Arizona and Colorado walked out of classrooms to demand more education funding. The protests followed similar recent demonstrations in West Virginia, Kentucky and Oklahoma. (Moriah Balingit)
5. Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel received a vote of no-confidence from the union representing half his sworn personnel. The union’s leadership criticized Israel’s response to the Parkland shooting, saying he should have shouldered more of the blame. (AP)
6. Sacramento investigators tracked down the suspected Golden State Killer by using DNA that his relatives submitted to various genealogy websites. Police surveilled Joseph James DeAngelo in his California neighborhood and obtained two positive DNA matches linking him to the crime scene. (Sacramento Bee)
7. D.C. police are investigating what appear to be human remains found underneath a Southeast apartment building. Officials are awaiting test results from the medical examiner’s office. (Clarence Williams)
8. The Cleveland Browns selected quarterback Baker Mayfield as their No. 1 pick in the NFL draft. Mayfield, a Heisman Trophy winner who played for Oklahoma, was considered a surprise pick for the Browns. (Mark Maske and John Harris)

Ronny Jackson withdraws from VA nomination

WEST WING INTRIGUE:

-- “The final week of April was designed to be a triumphant one for President Trump. ... But instead, it became yet another week in which the Trump administration was convulsed by chaos and contradiction,” write Philip Rucker, Josh Dawsey and Ashley Parker. “Inside the White House, the responses to this week’s convulsions were being personally directed by Trump, who has been acting as his own strategist and making decisions unilaterally — sometimes to the surprise of his senior staffers. ‘It’s starting to feel like the early days again, with everyone running around red-faced, trying to keep up with this president,’ said a Republican strategist close to the White House … Personnel matters are ordinarily the purview of the chief of staff, but John F. Kelly is a diminished figure these days. His influence a mere shell of what it was in his heyday of near-complete control — a downfall one West Wing staffer characterized as moving from the enforcer to an afterthought.”

One Trump adviser said the president was reluctant to dump Ronny Jackson as VA secretary nominee because he was afraid it would be interpreted as giving in to criticism that he chose a physician with no significant management experience to run one of the government’s most sprawling bureaucracies. “His typical instinct is deny, deny, deny, defend, defend, defend, fight, fight, fight,” said a second Trump adviser.

-- Jackson's position as chief White House physician and pending Navy promotion look shaky, Lisa Rein, Dan Lamothe and David Nakamura report: “Congressional Democrats said the admiral’s nomination for a second star would not be considered until the Pentagon addresses allegations that he drank excessively on the job and oversaw a hostile working environment in the White House medical office … At the White House, Trump continued to defend Jackson, and press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the doctor remains on the job as the head of the White House medical unit."

-- “A ride on President Trump’s bullet train can be thrilling, but it is often a brutal journey that leaves some bloodied by the side of the tracks,” the New York Times’s Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman add in their account of the chaos. “In only 15 months in office, Mr. Trump has burned through a record number of advisers and associates who have found themselves in legal, professional or personal trouble, or even all three. Half of the top aides who came to the White House with Mr. Trump in 2017 are gone, many under painful circumstances, either because they fell out with the boss or came under the harsh scrutiny that comes with him. … Their collective fate serves as a cautionary tale for those who might otherwise be tempted to join the president’s team but worry that they, too, might pay a price that would be too costly.”

Michael Cohen walks through the Trump Tower lobby in January 2017. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN:

-- A federal judge appointed a special master to review material seized from Michael Cohen’s office and residences before federal prosecutors can access it. Devlin Barrett and Rosalind S. Helderman report: “U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood appointed retired federal judge Barbara S. Jones to serve in the special-master role … [Wood] made clear that she does not want the review to get bogged down in legal wrangling, saying that she was prepared to intervene if there are unnecessary delays.” “If at any point it turns out that the special-master process is going too slowly, I will revisit it,” she said.

-- The FBI seized as many as 16 of Cohen’s cellphones during the raid. Prosecutor Thomas McKay said in court Thursday that his team has already handed over the contents of four phones and an iPad, but still had “about a dozen” remaining phones. “Among the devices seized are two BlackBerrys, suggesting Cohen has been holding on to his electronics for many, many years,” the New York Post reports.  

-- Investigators are probing the business relationship between Cohen and lawyer Keith Davidson, who previously represented Stormy Daniels. From Beth Reinhard, Emma Brown and Frances Stead Sellers: “Davidson is cooperating with the probe and has provided investigators with ‘certain limited electronic information,’ according to the lawyer’s spokesman. [Cohen] and Davidson, a Los Angeles lawyer, have crossed paths at least five times in the past two years. In the most recent instance, Cohen collected a fee said to be hundreds of thousands of dollars in a deal Davidson helped orchestrate. New attorneys for Davidson’s former clients, [Daniels] and Karen McDougal, both of whom allege they had affairs with Trump years ago, say the relationship between Cohen and Davidson has seemed too cozy.”

-- The Wall Street Journal has a fantastic profile of Cohen, who “brooded” about not getting a White House job — and apparently appeared publicly with Trump enemy Mark Cuban to get the president’s attention. Among the buzziest nuggets from Michael Rothfeld, Alexandra Berzon and Joe Palazzolo:

• On Cuban: When the two met for breakfast in November, paparazzi “somehow” showed up. “I think he does it to piss off Trump when Trump is ignoring him,” Cuban said. After Trump called to inquire, Cohen said: “No, boss, I had breakfast with him to set him straight. I told him he has to respect the office, to respect you.” Later, he added: “Boss, I miss you so much. I wish I was down there with you. … It’s really hard for me to be here.”
• On Cohen's White House aspirations: After Steve Bannon was hired to manage Trump’s campaign, Cohen said he had “expected to be tapped for the role.” He also said he believed he would become White House chief of staff.
• But Trump decided that bringing on Cohen “carried too many risks”: “Mr. Trump privately has described Mr. Cohen as a ‘bull in a china shop,’ who when brought in to fix a problem sometimes breaks more china[.]”
• A humiliating anecdote: “After saying he’d attend Mr. Cohen’s son’s bar mitzvah in 2012, Mr. Trump was late, and the blessings were delayed … After Mr. Trump arrived, he gave a speech, telling guests he hadn’t planned to come, but he relented after Mr. Cohen had repeatedly called him, his secretary and his children begging him to appear …”

Pruitt contradicts earlier statements, says he was aware of EPA raises

-- During more than five hours of House testimony, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt took little responsibility for his spending and management controversies. Brady Dennis and Juliet Eilperin report: “Pruitt suggested that the censure he’s faced in recent months stems largely from opponents who want to stall [Trump’s] environmental policies. … Three White House officials said Pruitt’s testimony — while ‘not good,’ in the words of one — did not deliver a knockout blow to his tenure. ... Democratic lawmakers pushed Pruitt hard on several fronts, prompting him to concede that he had known in advance of an aide’s pay hike, that he had not sought an ethics ruling on his rental of a condo from a lobbyist and that a costly soundproof phone booth installed in his office did not constitute the kind of secure communications facility commonly used by federal officials for classified discussions. ... Pruitt repeatedly faulted staff for spending decisions that have drawn intense heat and denied that he had reassigned or demoted anyone who questioned those expenditures.”

-- Bryan Rice, director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, resigned after just six months on the job. HuffPost’s Chris D’Angelo and Travis Waldron report: “The bureau, which is part of the Interior Department and handles government relations with more than 500 federally-recognized tribes, has made no official announcement about Rice’s departure. … The resignation comes roughly two weeks after the agency’s internal watchdog concluded that poor Interior Department staff record keeping made it impossible to determine if the reassignment of dozens of senior agency staff last year was legal. Nearly a third of the transferred staffers were Native American.”

Mike Pompeo smiles during his confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

-- The Senate confirmed Mike Pompeo as secretary of state, voting 57 to 42 in his favor, despite Democrats’ lingering concerns over Pompeo’s hawkish tendencies and closeness to Trump. Karoun Demirjian and Carol Morello report: “Only six of the 14 Democrats who backed Pompeo to be CIA director last year voted [in his favor].”

-- Pompeo has already jetted off to Brussels to hit the ground running on his new post. From Carol Morello: “Barely an hour after he was sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, he was whisked to Joint Base Andrews in suburban Maryland and in the air en route to Europe. … Unofficially, the decision to send Pompeo on the road as literally his first act in office sends a strong message to dispirited State Department employees who felt diplomacy and their expertise were sidelined under Tillerson. The trip underscores Pompeo’s resolve to return the State Department to the center of foreign policy in the administration.”

-- The Senate also confirmed Richard Grenell as the next ambassador to Germany. From Karoun Demirjian: “The vote of 56 to 42 establishes Grenell as the U.S. envoy to Berlin just in advance of a planned Friday visit from German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the United States. … Grenell becomes the most senior openly gay person to join the Trump administration.”

Missed 'Fox & Friends'? Here's what Trump said on Cohen, Ronny Jackson and more.

THERE’S A BEAR IN THE WOODS:

-- The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced a bill that would protect special counsel Robert Mueller from being fired by Trump. Committee Democrats joined Chairman Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and three other Republicans to advance the bill in a 14-7 vote, Mike DeBonis reports: “With [Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)] dead set against bringing the measure to the Senate floor, House Republicans showing no appetite to take up legislation protecting Mueller and Trump likely to veto any such bill even if it passed, there is little hope that the Senate legislation will become law. But supporters of the legislation say its mere consideration in committee will send an important message to Trump that firing Mueller or his overseers at the Justice Department would spark a fierce backlash on Capitol Hill.”

-- Trump hinted in a combative “Fox and Friends” interview he may get more deeply involved in the management of his Justice Department. Ashley Parker and John Wagner report: “Trump’s remarks came as he called on the Department of Justice to investigate corruption within its own ranks, rather than focus on the Russia probe … ‘Our Justice Department, which I try and stay away from, but at some point I won’t — our Justice Department should be looking at that kind of stuff, not the nonsense of collusion with Russia,' Trump said.” 

-- Top Democrats in Congress rebuked Trump: Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called Trump’s Fox remarks “so unbecoming of a president, unbecoming of a democracy.” “It’s so abundantly clear from the president’s remarks this morning, and from so many other things he has said, that he has little regard for the rule of law,” the Democratic leader said. “He seems to have this view that the purpose of the Justice Department is to protect his interests and persecute his enemies.”

-- Jeff Sessions took a thinly veiled swipe at Bob Mueller and suggested the special counsel investigation “needs to conclude.”Matt Zapotosky reports: “Rep. Evan Jenkins (R-W.Va.) confronted Sessions on his failure to appoint a second special counsel to investigate a host of GOP concerns, asserting his constituents were frustrated by that and by Mueller’s probe. ‘We are frustrated that we have had [Mueller] investigating supposed collusion for over a year, with not a scintilla of evidence …’ [Jenkins said]. ‘Look, I think the American people are concerned, and the president is concerned … and … this thing needs to conclude. So, I understand his frustrations, and I understand the American people’s frustrations,’ Sessions said.” He added later: “I do not think we need to willy nilly appoint special counsels, and as we can see, it can really take on a life of its own.” 

-- Congress received the latest batch of text messages between the FBI's Peter Strzok and Lisa Page. CNN’s Jeremy Herb and Laura Jarrett report: “[The texts] show their dismay at the firing of Comey and discussing the prospect of working for Mueller. The texts are also likely to raise new questions for Republicans and allies of Trump who've pointed to their previous anti-Trump texts as exhibit A for political bias at the nation's top law enforcement agency. ‘Having a tough time processing tonight, Lis. Feeling a profound sense of loss,’ Strzok writes to Page a couple days after Comey was fired." 

DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen tours a replacement border wall construction site in Calexico, Calif. (David McNew/Getty Images)

TRUMP’S AGENDA:

-- Top immigration and border officials are urging DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to detain and prosecute all parents caught illegally crossing the southern border with their children. Maria Sacchetti reports: “If approved, the zero-tolerance measure could split up thousands of families, although officials say they would not prosecute those who turn themselves in at legal ports of entry and claim asylum. … In a memorandum that outlines the proposal and was obtained by The Washington Post, officials say that threatening adults with criminal charges and prison time would be the ‘most effective’ way to reverse the steadily rising number of attempted crossings. Most parents now caught crossing the border illegally with their children are quickly released to await civil deportation hearings.”

-- Defense Secretary Jim Mattis suggested the United States would regret ending its involvement in Syria. Paul Sonne and Missy Ryan report: “[Mattis’s comments indicate] military leaders harbor reservations about a White House effort to task Arab militaries with stabilizing areas liberated from the Islamic State. Mattis, under questioning by the Senate Armed Services Committee, offered support, too, for lasting U.S. participation, alongside NATO allies, in the military mission in Iraq to maintain security and prevent the Islamic State from reconstituting itself there. ”

-- Mattis also highlighted the merits of the Iran nuclear deal in his Senate testimony. From the AP: “Without explicitly giving his opinion about whether the United States should stick with the agreement, Mattis said that after reading the full text of the deal three times, he was struck by provisions that allow for international verification of Iran’s compliance. … ‘I will say it is written almost with an assumption that Iran would try to cheat,’ he said in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee. ‘So the verification, what is in there, is actually pretty robust as far as our intrusive ability to get in’ with representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency to check on compliance.”

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) speaks during her weekly news conference last week. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

THE MIDTERMS:

-- Democrats plan to roll out the latest plank in their “Better Deal” agenda this morning. Erica Werner reports: “Increasingly optimistic about retaking the House, Democrats hope the plans they’re laying out now can serve both as a campaign platform for November, and a governing agenda if they do retake the majority. If Democrats do win back the House, the public can expect an activist approach to government that re-engages in areas like workplace protections while doubling public investments in scientific research and in public education on science, technology and math over the next five years. … Democrats also promise to pass comprehensive legislation overhauling the nation’s immigration system, a goal that has eluded Congress for years.”

-- A candidate in a Colorado Democratic primary released audio of House Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) encouraging him to leave the race. Dave Weigel and Erica report: “[T]he Intercept released audio of a December 2017 meeting between Hoyer and Levi Tillemann, a green energy entrepreneur running for the Democratic nomination in Colorado’s 6th Congressional District. The Democratic-trending district, one of 23 that elected a Republican to the House while backing Hillary Clinton for president, is one of the party’s top targets in November’s midterm elections. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has thrown its weight in the race behind Jason Crow, an attorney and veteran running a more center-left campaign than Tillemann … ‘If you stay in the race — and, frankly, I would hope you would not — but if you stay in the race, it is not useful to the objective to tear down Crow,’ Hoyer told Tillemann[.]” Nancy Pelosi said she didn’t see “anything inappropriate” in Hoyer's comments.

-- Generic ballot polling shows Republican voters are “coming home” as campaigning for the midterms ramps up, Amy Walter writes for the Cook Political Report: “Even in a terrible year for the GOP, they are not going to perform much worse in the national vote than 43-44 percent. In 2006, for example, Republicans took 44 percent of the national House vote, even as many polls leading up to Election Day showed Republicans in the high-30’s. … What’s happening now is that these voters are coming home sooner. Given our intense polarization, and a president and a news media that fans those partisan flames, this shouldn’t be all that surprising.”

SOCIAL MEDIA SPEED READ:

Trump was also tweeting about James Comey this morning:

And Kanye West:

Last night, he threatened to withhold support from countries that don't back the U.S. joint World Cup bid:

Trump's daughter and senior adviser defended Jackson after he withdrew his nomination as VA secretary:

The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee criticized Trump's DOJ comments:

A Weekly Standard editor analyzed the Senate committee's vote on a bill to protect Mueller:

From the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee:

Stormy Daniels's lawyer commented on the FBI's seizure of Cohen's cellphones:

Trump's "Fox and Friends" interview included this contradiction, per a conservative pollster:

A CNN reporter urged lawmakers to focus on questioning Scott Pruitt during his House hearings:

Pruitt's staffers guarded him on the Hill, per an NBC News reporter:

The DHS secretary issued a statement about the so-called “caravan” of immigrants Trump has railed against. From a HuffPost reporter:

Democratic voters are losing their appreciation of compromise:

Kanye West tweeted this message a day after expressing his support for Trump:

From a Wall Street Journal reporter:

A GOP strategist made a suggestion for Trump's new Cabinet member:

A former congressman tried to convince House Republicans to retire:

Dingell's wife, Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), replied:

The White House briefing room was handed over to kids:

And the leaders of the House sold their agendas to the youth vote:

GOOD READS FROM ELSEWHERE:

-- Politico Magazine, “The Deep Roots of Trump’s War on the Press,” by Tim Alberta: “It remains something of a myth that Vietnam and Watergate shattered Americans’ innocence and launched an era of institutional mistrust. As of 1986, Gallup was finding that 65 percent of Americans still felt a ‘great deal’ or ‘fair amount’ of confidence in the press. The next year, inside a rickety townhouse in Alexandria, Virginia, the Media Research Center — or MRC — was born. Its mission was simple: Highlight examples of alleged bias from the nation’s major news organizations and hold them accountable. Over the ensuing decades, with the assistance of tens of millions of dollars from prominent Republican donors, the MRC moved to the front lines of America’s culture wars, relentlessly assailing what it viewed as a godless, condescending, out-of-touch national media — and systematically chipping away at its credibility in the minds of voters.”

-- New York Times, “Women Describe Invasive Strip Searches on Visits to City Jails,” by Jan Ransom: “Jeannette Reynoso dreaded visiting her husband at the Rikers Island jail complex. She knew she would wait hours to be processed, go through several metal detectors and be subjected to a search by dogs sniffing for drugs and weapons. But she never thought she would be standing naked and in tears before two New York City Department of Correction officers as they checked her body cavities for contraband.”

HOT ON THE LEFT: “Half of Republicans say the news media should be described as the enemy of the American people,” from Philip Bump: “It has faded into the background noise by now … But it’s occasionally worth remembering that the president of the United States disparaged the news media as ‘the enemy of the American people within his first month in office. … [But] last month, Quinnipiac University’s pollsters asked Americans if they agreed with the sentiment Trump expressed in that tweet. Were certain news outlets — unnamed by Quinnipiac — enemies of the American people? Nearly 4 in 10 said yes — including more than 8 in 10 Republicans. [And in a new Pew poll], only 8 percent of respondents said they had a great deal of confidence in the news media to act in the best interests of the public — with Democrats expressing a great deal or a fair amount of confidence more than three times the rate of Republicans.”

HOT ON THE RIGHT “Who are Diamond and Silk? How two small-town ex-Democrats found fame as ‘warriors’ for Trump,” from Monica Hesse and Dan Zak: “Lynnette Hardaway’s conversion from lifelong Democrat to Donald Trump’s ‘most vocal and loyal supporter’ happened sometime between her concluding Democrats ‘didn’t give a damn about my fellow black brothers and sisters’ and her acquiring a new iPad. In 2015 she received one as a birthday present, trained the camera on herself and pressed record. Her sister, Rochelle Richardson, told her to put the result on YouTube. … Their routine is ‘Diamond and Silk,’ the names Lynnette, 46, and Rochelle, 47, used to go viral during the presidential campaign with their chatty diatribes on politics. … Now they release a new video every week, sitting side by side, saucily responding to current events.”

DAYBOOK:

Trump will host a celebration for Team USA before the arrival of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. He and Merkel will then meet and hold a joint news conference. After her departure, the president will host the 2018 White House Correspondents’ Association Scholarship Winners.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:  “We’re living in a season of corruption the likes of which we haven’t seen but in a banana republic,” Steve Schmidt, a veteran GOP strategist and Trump critic, said of the administration’s chaotic week. “Everywhere you look you see incompetence, malfeasance, self-dealing and corruption.”

NEWS YOU CAN USE IF YOU LIVE IN D.C.:

-- This morning’s rain should clear out, but more showers could arrive over the weekend. The Capital Weather Gang forecasts: “While the heaviest of rains may end as most of us make our commutes, it could take a bit longer to totally clear things out. … Occasional northeasterly breezes shouldn’t overwhelm our umbrellas. Patchy thicker clouds may stick around for much of the day but at least we still manage temperatures trying for the mid-60s.”

-- The Capitals lost to the Penguins 3-2. Washington now trails Pittsburgh 1-0 in the second-round playoff series. (Isabelle Khurshudyan, Roman Stubbs, Scott Allen and Neil Greenberg)

-- Maryland state Sen. Richard S. Madaleno Jr. debuted the first television ad of the Democratic gubernatorial primary. From Rachel Chason: “The 30-second spot, which will air on CNN and MSNBC stations in Montgomery County, highlights Madaleno’s accomplishments on ‘progressive priorities’ such as banning assault weapons and legalizing same-sex marriage, as well as his family role as ‘chief dishwasher.’”

VIDEOS OF THE DAY:

Late-night hosts picked apart Trump's "Fox and Friends" interview, including his answer about Melania's birthday present:

Trump Celebrates Melania's Birthday by Ranting to "Fox & Friends" | The Daily Show

Trump Goes on Fox & Friends and Freaks Out About Michael Cohen: A Closer Look

Kim Jong Un’s car was accompanied by 12 jogging bodyguards in South Korea:

Facebook's chief technology officer fielded tough questions from British lawmakers over Cambridge Analytica:

Facebook executive grilled by U.K. lawmakers over Cambridge Analytica

Diamond and Silk testified before Congress:

Diamond and Silk testify on Capitol Hill

And Prince William is excited to be Prince Harry's best man at his wedding:

Prince William 'thrilled' to be brother Harry's best man at wedding