… Italian PM Giorgia Meloni released a video denouncing Trump for lying about an encounter with her at the G7 summit, which has caused an uproar in Italy. An Italian delegation led by their foreign minister also cancelled an upcoming trip to the US over the incident.
… In an interview with the Italian La7 TV, Trump was asked about his meeting with Meloni: "She's probably happy I talked to her. I didn't have to talk to her. She begged me to take a picture with her. She wanted a picture with me so badly. I wouldn't have taken it, but I felt sorry for her."
… Meloni: “Certain things demand an immediate answer. Trump’s statements are completely fabricated. I am frankly astonished. I don’t know why the President of the US behaves like this towards his allies. I can only say that I regret that he does not show the same resolve toward the enemies of the West, toward the enemies of the United States, toward leaders with whom, instead, he shows far more conciliatory behavior.”
… “This not the first time this has happened. But you must remember one thing: Neither I nor Italy ever beg. Whatever one's political preferences, the President of the US has no business publicly mocking or insulting the democratically elected leader of a close European ally. Trump's childish and needlessly confrontational behavior is unworthy of the office he holds and of the great nation he represents."
… Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani: “The serious and offensive words of President Trump towards PM Giorgia Meloni offend all of Italy. For this reason, I have decided to cancel my visit to the US scheduled for the next 21 and 22 June.”
… Undersecretary Giovanbattista Fazzolari: “It is unclear whether out of intent or ineptitude Trump is wrecking the historic relations between the US and Europe. With his inappropriate outbursts, he has managed no easy feat, to make the US unpopular across the entire European continent, damaging not only Europe but above all the US.”
… Marge Greene: “I believe Giorgia Meloni, she’s great! Trump lies. Constantly.”
… CNN: “Trump’s pick for acting DNI Bill Pulte showed up at his new job a day early Thursday after asking for a list of every employee in the office so he could assess whether to fire them. Two sources said Pulte is eyeing cutting hundreds of jobs at the Office of DNI.”
… “Pulte’s appearance at ODNI on Thursday caught staff off guard, including the outgoing director, Tulsi Gabbard, who was given a brief heads-up on the visit. Trump himself has said that Pulte, who is a Trump loyalist with no intelligence experience, would start his job Friday. Pulte met with lawyers and staffers during his visit.”
… “In his only other briefing with ODNI last week, Pulte asked staff if he could bring the President’s Daily Brief to his house, raising alarm bells among intelligence officials. That briefing is a highly classified set of intelligence on key national security matters of the day.”
… “Pulte also asked about his level of security clearance and whether he had access to a govt plane, the first source said, even though the briefing was meant to explain the core mission of ODNI to Pulte. Pulte has repeatedly inquired about his schedule and whether he gets his own govt plane, appearing almost overly fixated on his ability to travel between FL, Chicago and DC.”
… Pulte also asked for a protective security detail even before starting the job.
… Reuters: “WH officials have for months delayed the release of a US govt report that outlines what it describes as significant vulnerabilities in the nation’s voting machines ahead of the Nov midterms. The report, produced by Gabbard, concludes that voting machines could be further safeguarded by updating their software. It does not say the vulnerabilities have led to votes flipping, but examines security gaps in how the machines are used during US elections.”
… Gabbard, who launched an investigation into the voting machines and searched for evidence to support Trump’s false election fraud claims, steps down on Friday. Stepping in as interim director is federal housing regulator Bill Pulte. Trump has said he wants Pulte to investigate ‘rigged elections’ during his time at ODNI.”
… “It is unclear what Pulte plans to do with the report. He has been briefed on efforts by the agency to investigate flaws in voting machines, including the unreleased report. Democrats and some analysts warn of possible interference by the Trump admin in the midterm elections.”
… Meidas reporter Scott Macfarlane: DOJ refuses to make official court filing which would've confirmed they're halting the Trump $1.7 billion slush fund. Judge in VA ordered such a declaration by today. DOJ instead writes to court: "Such declarations are unnecessary and the compelled testimony of senior officials from the Executive Branch implicates serious separation of powers concerns."
… Plaintiff's lawyer Skye Perriman, who's challenging slush fund: “It's telling that even after the federal court gave them a week, the Acting AG and senior admin officials continue to refuse to say under oath that the Slush Fund is dead and won’t operate in the future."
… NBC Sports: “Joe Gruters was only off by 117.4 million. Earlier this week, the RNC chair made the loony claim that more people watched the UFC Freedom 250 event on the WH lawn than watched the Super Bowl. The numbers are now in. Paramount says 8.2 million watched the event. (As noted by Mattew Belloni of Puck, that’s a ‘fraction’ of what marquee sporting events deliver.)”
… “And (shocker) it’s far, far less than the Super Bowl LX audience of 125.6 million. But who cares about the truth? The truth is an annoyance. An impediment. A pesky little thing that gets in the way of preferred narratives. No matter how outlandish those narratives may be.”
… Trump gave a speech today in front of his new Qatar Force One jet, which he will be using from this point forward and keeping after leaving the WH:
On Iran: “60 days, they have to make a deal. Otherwise, we will do things that won't make them happy. I don't think it's going to get to that. If we do that then all of a sudden you're not going to have the oil flowing out of the strait.”
On the Qatari jet: “I asked the Emir if we could use the brand new 747 that he got. A normal president wouldn’t do that but our country has to be represented properly.”
“These are the new colors red, white, and blue. Everything was designed good. It was my taste. All of the planes in the fleet are being changed into this look, which is a much better look and a more appropriate look.”
“We're going to do a flyover like no flyover. This is going to lead a group of many, many planes. They're putting F-22s. They're going to have the 35s. They're going to have the 60.”
… AP: “Talks between the US and Iran were called off Friday after intense fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, officials said, raising questions about an initial agreement to end the war in Iran. Israel and the militant group later agreed to renew their ceasefire. The truce was mediated by Qatar, the US and Iran. Hezbollah did not immediately confirm that the ceasefire had gone into effect. Israel also did not.”
… “Iranian officials didn’t travel as planned to Switzerland, insisting that the fighting in Lebanon must stop before the talks can take place. JD Vance also postponed his trip.”
Reminder there is no Bulletin tomorrow because I’m off Saturdays. We are almost done living out of boxes at the new house. Tomorrow we are visiting with a fireplace guy (best time of year to do it in Maine), going to a farmer’s market, a small museum, and the historical society to get some records on the house.
I will be back with the Weekend Bulletin on Sunday night. Thank you to everyone who reads, comments, follows, shares and subscribes. Without your support I would not be able to do this, and we would not be able to continue to expand our reporting heading into the midterms with great new hires.
If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, you can find it here.
… Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s Minister for National Security: “For every tear of an Israeli mother, a thousand Lebanese mothers must weep. All of Lebanon must burn! With all due respect to the Americans, Israel must make it clear to the entire world that the blood of our sons and the security of our citizens are not forfeit. All of Lebanon must burn. Our supreme duty is to protect the citizens of Israel and the soldiers of the IDF, and this commitment takes precedence over every other consideration.”
… “I told the PM, even in our private meetings: For every tear of an Israeli mother, a thousand Lebanese mothers must weep. Enough with the ping-pong. In the Middle East, you don’t win with measured responses and restraint—you need to go berserk. To obliterate. To crush the terror.”
… Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi responded: “This is not a rant by a random genocidal lunatic. It’s a public post by the national security minister of the Israeli regime. The genocidal death cult headquartered in Tel Aviv is a threat to all of humanity. It threatens all humans. Its only interest is permanent war.”
… Trump sat down for an interview with Axios reporter Marc Caputo:
Q: “Are you going to be able to control Israel from attacking Lebanon? Trump: Yeah. They have a lot of respect for me, and they do as I say.”
Q: “How is your relationship with Netanyahu? Trump: It’s good, but we have to keep him a little bit sane.”
Q - You had talked about you only wanted unconditional surrender. But the MOU doesn’t look like unconditional surrender. Trump: Well, it really probably is unconditional surrender. By far. Caputo: It is? Trump: I think so.”
… Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) was asked on Real America’s Voice about Vance’s comments yesterday criticizing Israel while warning them not to make Trump mad: “I thought JD’s comments yesterday were absolutely inappropriate and frankly disgusting. Vance would be wise to go back and learn his history. I thought his comments were completely out of line.”
… Fox host Brian Kilmeade: “I was a little surprised the VP was going after Israel yesterday at the podium more than he was going after Iran.”
… WaPo’s John Hudson: “I just confirmed that one of the data points JD Vance used yesterday to underscore how much Israel relies on the US was a reference to the large number of interceptors the US used to defend Israel from Iranian missiles. Indeed, the US used half of its entire global inventory of THAAD interceptors to defend Israel.”
… “However, before I broke this story last month, the Pentagon urged against publishing, saying Israel and the US ‘carried the defensive burden equitably.’ Clearly the Trump admin’s appetite for revealing how much the US assists Israel has shifted given current events.”
… Conservative radio host Erick Erickson: “A question I think we need an answer to: If we only targeted Iran’s military and military targets, why do they need a $300 billion reconstruction fund? What will they reconstruct?”
… Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) responded: “Their ballistic missile and military industrial base, their uranium enrichment program, and their support for their terrorist proxies.”
… Bloomberg: “Iran has moved to assert its control over the Strait of Hormuz, declaring that ships can’t cross without its permission and setting the stage for future tolling arrangements by saying it could introduce ‘insurance fees’. All vessels that transit the strait will have to secure a mandatory insurance policy that is currently free but could involve charges in the future, the country’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority said. It also said that ships must follow a prescribed route that passes along its coast and that alternatives are prohibited.”
… “A bumper volume of oil made its way out of Hormuz in the hours after the US and Iran signed their interim peace deal this week. However, observable traffic thinned by Friday, and Pakistan’s navy reported that a mine had been spotted near Oman’s coast, adding to the jeopardy of using the non-Iranian route.”
… “Shippers and producers have grown increasingly concerned about the prospect that Iran will seek to toll the strait in future, after the MOU signed with the US said only that transit would be free for the duration of its 60-day term. They have also been seeking guidance about how transits through Hormuz would work after the peace deal was signed and how it will be cleared of mines.”
… “US allies led by the UK are desperately pushing the Trump admin to not accept or normalize Iran’s attempts to try to introduce fees to pass the strait. The industry has warned tolls would break with international maritime law and set a dangerous precedent that could be mirrored in other waterways.”
… Richard Haass, former president of Council on Foreign Relations: “Trump’s focus on lower gas prices and higher stock market along with his criticism of Israel all but ensures Iran will threaten to close Strait of Hormuz at some point to move US to pressure Israel over Lebanon and Gaza.”
… WSJ: The Dept of War is reportedly seeking $80 billion to cover costs associated with the Iran conflict and other unrelated expenses. Dep. War Secretary Stephen Feinberg has told lawmakers in recent phone calls that the Pentagon needs additional funding to sustain military operations tied to the conflict with Iran and cover other expenses.
… Cook Political just moved 7 more House races toward Democrats. The report said that despite redistricting by Republicans, “Democrats remain in a strong position to regain control of the House, with the battlefield continuing to shift in their favor as the political environment further deteriorates for the GOP. Districts that once appeared to be relatively safe for Republicans look increasingly competitive.”
… Politico: “Gavin Newsom’s preemptive strike against DOJ investigations into him and his wife followed his familiar Trump-era playbook. Privately, his team is bracing for a new kind of battle. Even as the CA governor works to maximize the political advantages of being targeted by Trump before a possible presidential run, the consequences of the federal probes are already rippling through his orbit.”
… “Law enforcement is looking into his wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s taxes and finances, and the nebulous nature of the investigations has prompted some people in Newsom’s circle to contemplate whether they’ll need lawyers in the future.
… Newsom advisor: “There is no war room or panic - just a seriousness and anger at how far they’ve crossed the line this time. Something is different about this - nastier.”
… “The DOJ activity opens up a new line of possible attack. Her involvement with a pair of nonprofits, the CA Partners Project and The Representation Project, while serving as first partner has long been portrayed by critics as rife with potential conflicts of interest.”
… “There has not been any public evidence of improper influence or corruption connected with those entities. Still, the news of federal investigators approaching some Newsom associates connected to the nonprofits with ties to the governor and his spouse has revived public scrutiny on Siebel Newsom’s non-governmental work.”
… New Franklin & Marshall poll on PA governor’s race: Gov. Josh Shapiro: 50% Republican nominee Stacy Garrity: 28%.
… Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) on Trump’s obsession with the SAVE Act: "Here’s where things go off the rails: When the president fails to acknowledge some hills simply can’t be held, and charges up anyway. That’s what happened in the fight over Bill Pulte, wiretapping and the SAVE America Act. His no-win standoff with his Senate GOP risks more than national security. It’s accelerating his lame-duck status. Whatever adviser is feeding that hallucination is a poster child for America’s fourth-grade math problem."
… John Thune to Punchbowl: “Everybody knows we’re not nuking the filibuster. It was on the floor for two weeks. We’ve had now 5 votes on it, none of which have gotten 60, and SAVE America hasn’t even gotten 50. So at some point, it seems like we ought to start making this an issue with the Democrats rather than with each other.”
… The Hill: “The cost of a contract for work on the Lincoln Memorial’s Reflecting Pool has ballooned further - now costing taxpayers a total of $14.7 million. The federal contract with Atlantic Industrial Coatings is up more than $1.5 million from $13.1 million a month ago. The contract was for work completed through June 3. On June 3, records show a transaction bringing the total cost up to $14.2 million.”
… “However, records also indicate that there was an additional transaction of about $460,000 on June 15, bringing the total cost up to roughly $14.7 million. It’s not immediately clear what the expense was for.”
… CNN sent a reporter to check out the Reflecting Pool today: “This is just a loose flap of what appears to be that sealant down here in the water just flapping like that. There have been tourists coming along, tearing off pieces to take as souvenirs.”
… “This is the output from what's going on over there. And you can see it is clearly green. This is the water that the federal officials are saying is absolutely clear. It very clearly is not.”
… NewsNation WH correspondent Kellie Meyer: “I asked the WH why the President decided to go to Camp David this weekend. A WH official: ‘His family will be traveling with him for Father’s Day weekend.’”
… For the second straight year, Trump had no proclamation, public statement, ceremonial event, or remarks recognizing Juneteenth today.
… An excerpt from Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan’s upcoming book says that WH staff has to keep a close eye on Trump’s eating habits, revealing that he sometimes throws sterling silver utensils in the trash.
… He apparently is also an inconsiderate slob during his frequent late-night snack binges: “The President would frequently leave an array of empty potato chip bags, Starbucks wrappers, and ice cream cartons in the trash, or on the floor.”
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