The Note: If the Trump tapes exist
If there are tapes, what would they reveal?
— -- NOTABLES
--ANALYSIS - ABC’s RICK KLEIN: If there are tapes, or even just “tapes,” what would they reveal? Words, surely - many predictable, some profane, some belonging to President Trump, others to his staff and visitors. But it’s the words we know about – those said in public – that are causing trouble for the president, in virtually every aspect of his job. The president uses his words to attack major institutions of government, taking them down a notch with insults and accusations. But because his words matter, Trump is undermining his own credibility and the credibility of the White House itself. The six days since the firing of James Comey have brought new reasons to question words from the White House press office and the vice president of the United States. And this week -- with the travel ban back in court, a major cyberattack, rumors of a White House staff shakeup, and the president set to leave on his first foreign trip -- Trump doesn’t even need his own words to trip him up. One thing the president’s words have done is wake up people at institutions he’s challenged. And if tapes do exist, expect the folks at one of those institutions – the Congress, the courts, the agencies – to make sure they’re heard.
--FEDERAL JUDGES TO HEAR APPEAL ON TRUMP'S REVISED TRAVEL BAN: Trump administration attorneys head back to a federal appeals court Monday seeking to reverse a judge’s March order that blocked the president’s second travel ban just hours before it was to go into effect -- a ruling the president called an “unprecedented judicial overreach” that made America “look weak.” The arguments to be heard Monday in Seattle -- before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit –- follow U.S. District Court Judge Derrick K. Watson’s March 16 decision that thwarted implementation of the overhauled version of Trump’s controversial policy, which the administration contends is a vital component of a strategy to prevent potential terrorists from entering the country. ABC’s JAMES HILL and LAUREN PEARLE have more: http://abcn.ws/2qIpY0K
--COMEY ASSOCIATES PREDICT PUBLIC TESTIMONY, DESCRIBE DISCOMFORT WITH TRUMP DINNER: Associates of fired FBI Director James Comey believe that the former director's first comments on his termination would likely come in an open session before Congress, ABC News has learned. Comey declined an invitation to speak to a closed session of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday and was replaced on a panel testifying before that committee last Thursday by his temporary replacement, Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, ABC's PIERRE THOMAS reports. http://abcn.ws/2r7d38n
SPEED READ with ABC’s ADAM KELSEY
SENATE INTEL COMMITTEE VICE CHAIR WOULD 'LOVE' COMEY TO TESTIFY IN OPEN HEARING. Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chair Mark Warner, D-Va. said that he would "love" to have former FBI Director James Comey testify in a public hearing about his firing. "I think Jim Comey deserves his chance to lay out to the American public his side of the facts," Warner told ABC's GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS in an interview on "This Week" on Sunday morning. "How he was treated was pretty awful by the president." Comey was invited to speak before the committee in a closed session Tuesday, but declined the invitation, ABC's NICKI ROSSOLL writes. http://abcn.ws/2rfnQuA
NIKKI HALEY: TRUMP IS 'CEO OF THE COUNTRY,' CAN 'FIRE ANYONE HE WANTS.' U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley defended President Trump's firing of former FBI director James Comey, saying that he can "fire anyone he wants." "The president is the CEO of the country," Haley told ABC's GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS on "This Week" Sunday. "He can hire and fire anyone he wants." She added that she believes the criticism of Trump stems from discomfort with his propensity to act on his decisions, notes ABC's MICHAEL EDISON HAYDEN. http://abcn.ws/2pL759l
FORMER DNI CLAPPER SAYS RUSSIA LIKELY SEES COMEY'S FIRING AS 'ANOTHER VICTORY.' Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said Russia likely sees President Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey as "another victory on the scoreboard for them." “What's unfolded now, here, the leader of the -- the lead of the investigation about potential collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign has been removed. So the Russians have to consider this as a, you know, another victory on the scoreboard for them,” Clapper told ABC's GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS on “This Week” Sunday. ABC's QUINN SCANLAN has more: http://abcn.ws/2reMDOu
U.S. BELIEVES NORTH KOREA LAUNCHED KN-17 MISSILE. The U.S. believes the ballistic missile North Korea launched on Saturday was a KN-17 medium range missile and not a new intermediate range missile, as had been speculated. The launch marked the first successful test of the missile, three previous launches in April had ended in failure, explains ABC's LUIS MARTINEZ. The initial assessment by U.S. intelligence is that the missile launched by North Korea was a KN-17, a medium range ballistic missile, according to two U.S. officials. http://abcn.ws/2rgncgt
WHO’S TWEETING?
@carenbohan: Priebus recently warned senior staff: Quit trying to secretly slip news articles to Trump. http://politi.co/2pB7Gyt via @ShaneGoldmacher
@BrianRoss: Law enforcement officials say the worst of the global cyberattack may be yet to come: http://abcn.ws/2qj8160
@TheBrodyFile: .@TheBrodyFile EXCLUSIVE: .@realDonaldTrump Administration To Significantly Expand Pro-Life Mexico City Policy http://www1.cbn.com/thebrodyfile/archive/2017/05/14/brody-file-exclusive-trump-administration-to-significantly-expand-pro-life-mexico-city-policy
@PreetBharara: Here's an Op-ed I wrote. Opinion | Preet Bharara: Are there still public servants who will say no to the president? http://wapo.st/2qIvuk2
@jeffzeleny: WH hopes to name ambassador to Vatican before @realDonaldTrump meets @Pontifex. @CallyGingrich is leading choice, pending ethics review.
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