Developments in Washington, D.C., on Monday include The attorneys general from Maryland and Washington, D.C., file emoluments lawsuit against President Donald Trump, the nation’s capitol prepares for another high-profile hearing as Attorney General Jeff Sessions plans to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, the administration kills a proposal that would protect endangered sea life from a specific type of net, and the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rules against Trump’s travel ban against six majority-Muslim nations.
WATCH: DC attorney general on lawsuit against Trump
WATCH: Maryland attorney general on Trump lawsuit
DC, Maryland File ‘Emoluments’ Lawsuit Against Trump — The state of Maryland and the District of Columbia have filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump, claiming the president’s sprawling business empire violates a part of the U.S. Constitution meant to curb corruption. The suit, filed Monday, essentially argues Trump, a real estate developer whose business interests include everything from golf courses to skyscrapers to wineries, is using the presidency to enrich himself.
WATCH: White House press secretary on lawsuit against Trump
Republican Lawmakers Press for Release of Trump-Comey Tape, if It Exists — Republican lawmakers are pressing the White House to release tapes of key conversations President Donald Trump had with fired FBI director James Comey, if the recordings exist. The tapes would likely settle the issue of whether Trump at a White House dinner in February urged Comey, then leading the FBI’s probe of Russian meddling in last year’s U.S. presidential election, to drop the agency’s investigation of Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn. Trump had fired Flynn for lying about his contacts with Russia’s ambassador to Washington.
Secret Service Says It Doesn’t Have Any Trump Tapes — The U.S. Secret Service said Monday it doesn’t have any recordings or transcripts of any tapes recorded within President Donald Trump’s White House, a disclosure that failed to rule out whether any tapes exist of Trump’s conversations with ousted FBI Director James Comey.
Sessions’ Testimony to Congress Tuesday to Be Open to Public — Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ testimony to the Senate Intelligence committee Tuesday will be open to the public. Sessions is expected to face sharp questioning from his former Senate colleagues about his role in the investigation into contacts between Trump campaign associates and Russia during the 2016 election.
US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Rules Against Travel Ban — A second U.S. federal court has voted to uphold a block on President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting travel from six mostly Muslim countries. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled unanimously Monday against Trump’s temporary ban, on the grounds that the president overstepped his authority when he issued his March 2 executive order, “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry in the United States.”
WATCH: White House press secretary on travel ban
Hawaii Urges US Supreme Court Not to Revive Trump’s Travel Ban — The state of Hawaii on Monday urged the U.S. Supreme Court not to grant the Trump administration’s emergency request seeking to revive his plan to temporarily ban travelers from six Muslim-majority nations after it was blocked by lower courts that found it was discriminatory. Lawyers for Hawaii, which challenged Trump’s ban in court and won a nationwide injunction blocking it, said in court papers that his executive order is a “thinly veiled Muslim ban.”
2 Corporate Sponsors Pull Support From Trump-Like ‘Julius Caesar’ — Two corporate sponsors have pulled their support for a controversial New York Public Theater production of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar that depicts Caesar as Trump. Delta Air Lines and Bank of America acted amid criticism the play crosses a line in its depiction of the grisly assassination of the Trump-Caesar character.
Ivanka Trump Brand Applies for, Wins More China Trademarks — China has granted provisional approval for four additional Ivanka Trump trademarks since April 20, and her brand has continued to seek more intellectual property protection in China, with at least 14 applications filed around the time she took on an official White House role, Chinese public records show.
US Agency Kills Proposal to Protect Endangered Sea Life From Fishing Nets — The Trump administration is throwing out proposed rules aimed at keeping endangered whales, turtles and other sea life from getting caught in Pacific Coast fishing nets. The regulation was proposed under the Obama White House in 2015 by not only government experts, but also members of the Pacific fishing industry. It would have shut down what is called drift gillnet fishing for swordfish for as long as two seasons if too many endangered animals are caught in the nets and killed.
Interior Head Suggests Reducing Bears Ears National Monument — Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Monday recommended that the new Bears Ears National Monument in Utah be reduced in size and said Congress should step in to designate how selected areas of the 1.3 million-acre site are managed. Zinke made the recommendation as part of an interim report to Trump on the scenic swath of southern Utah with red rock plateaus, cliffs and canyons on land considered sacred to tribes.
US Opts Out of G-7 Pledge Committing to Paris Climate Accord — The United States refused Monday to sign onto a Group of Seven pledge that calls the Paris climate accord the “irreversible” global tool to address climate change. The G-7 environment ministers issued a final communique Monday after their two-day meeting, the first since the United States announced it was withdrawing from the Paris climate pact.
Ex-FBI Director James Comey Visits Hometown, Dad — Former FBI director James Comey spent the weekend in his New Jersey hometown, days after he testified about Trump before a Senate committee. The Record reports Comey and his wife, Patrice Failor, attended Mass with Comey’s 83-year-old father at Guardian Angel Roman Catholic Church on Sunday. Comey declined to speak with a reporter, but he posed for a photo with several students from his alma mater, Northern Highlands Regional High School.
AP FACT CHECK: The Record Behind Trump’s Cabinet Statements — Trump preened before his Cabinet and the cameras on Monday, making claims that are unsupported by the record. Here is a sampling from a portion of the Cabinet meeting opened to the press.
WATCH: Trump and his full Cabinet
Trump’s Cabinet Heaps Praise at First Full Member Meeting — Great president or greatest? That appeared to be the question at Trump’s first meeting of his full Cabinet on Monday, as top aides took turns piling praise on the boss. After Trump extolled the achievements of his young administration, asserting that he had accomplished more than any president in his first six months — with “few exceptions,” like President Franklin Delano Roosevelt — his Cabinet added on more accolades.
WATCH: Trump in Islamic State
Trump Says He Will Discuss Islamic State Fight in Two Weeks — Trump said on Monday that he planned to hold a news conference in two weeks to discuss the U.S.-led coalition’s fight against the Islamic State militant group. Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House ahead of a scheduled meeting with his Cabinet, gave no specific date or any other details about the news conference.
Polish Minister Hails Planned Trump Visit as Government Success — Poland’s defense minister is hailing an upcoming visit by Trump as an “enormous event” and a success of his conservative government. The White House said Friday that Trump will visit Poland on July 6 before he joins the Group of 20 summit in Germany. It said the visit to Poland is meant to reaffirm America’s “steadfast commitment to one of our closest European allies.”
Indian Prime Minister Modi to Meet With Trump in Washington — India has announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Washington later this month for his first meeting with Trump. The External Affairs Ministry said Monday that Modi will meet Trump on June 26 to discuss bilateral relations.
University Collection of More Than 2,700 Books Spans US Presidency — The New Hampshire Political Library doesn’t include any books about Trump, but even he likely would agree its new collection of presidential biographies, memoirs and monographs is huge. Arthur Young of Manchester spent 25 years collecting 2,744 books on the presidency, the founding fathers and other people and events related to the nation’s highest office.
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