Nation Glance
WASHINGTON — House Republicans ratcheted up criticism of special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian meddling Wednesday, questioning whether there was bias on his team of lawyers but stopping short of calling for his firing or resignation.
The criticism directed toward Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein at a House Judiciary Committee hearing comes after the release of anti-Donald Trump text messages exchanged between two FBI officials later assigned to the Russia probe. While Republicans on Capitol Hill are unlikely to support Mueller’s removal, some appear to be laying the groundwork for suggesting the results of the investigation will be unfairly partisan.
House members focused on the hundreds of text messages between an FBI counterintelligence agent and an FBI lawyer. Those messages, which occurred before Mueller was appointed in May to investigate potential coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign, show the officials using words like “idiot” and “loathsome human” to characterize Trump as he was running for president in 2016. One of the officials said in an election night text that the prospect of a Trump victory was “terrifying.”
Republicans also focused on past donations to Democrats made by some members of Mueller’s team.
“How, with a straight face, can you say that this group of Democrat partisans are unbiased and will give President Trump a fair shake?” asked Republican Rep. Steve Chabot of Ohio.
Former ‘Apprentice’ contestant Omarosa leaving White House
WASHINGTON — Omarosa Manigault Newman — the former “Apprentice” contestant who became one of President Donald Trump’s most prominent African -American supporters — was escorted off the White House grounds after resigning her post as a presidential adviser.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Wednesday that Manigault Newman’s last day will be Jan. 20, one year since Trump’s inauguration. “We wish her the best in future endeavors and are grateful for her service,” Sanders said.
The president also bid her farewell, tweeting: “Thank you Omarosa for your service! I wish you continued success.”
Manigault Newman was an assistant to the president and director of communications for the White House Office of Public Liaison, working on outreach to various constituency groups. But the office languished under her watch and White House chief of staff John Kelly had indicated that changes were forthcoming, including her dismissal, according to two White House officials who insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about personnel matters.
Better known by just her first name, Manigault Newman was escorted from the White House complex Tuesday night but was allowed to tender her resignation. The U.S. Secret Service, which provides security for the president, tweeted Wednesday that it was not involved in her termination or her escort from the grounds. Some published reports said Secret Service officers had physically removed Manigault Newman from the complex.
Ky. lawmaker accused of assault dies in apparent suicide
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Dan Johnson, a Republican state lawmaker in Kentucky who defiantly denied allegations that he sexually assaulted a teenage girl in the basement of his home, died in an apparent suicide Wednesday night, the county coroner said. He was 57.
Bullitt County Coroner Dave Billings said Johnson died of a single gunshot wound on Greenwell Ford Road in Mount Washington, Kentucky. Billings said Johnson stopped his car at the end of a bridge in a secluded area, then got out and walked to the front of the car. He said an autopsy is scheduled for Thursday morning.
“I would say it is probably suicide,” he said.
Johnson was elected to the state legislature in 2016, part of a wave of Republican victories that gave the GOP control of the Kentucky House of Representatives for the first time in nearly 100 years. He won his election despite Republican leaders urging him to drop out of the race after local media reported on some of his Facebook posts comparing Barack and Michelle Obama to monkeys.
The pastor of Heart of Fire church in Louisville, Johnson sponsored a number of bills having to do with religious liberty and teaching the Bible in public schools.