'Start Here': D'Souza the latest to be pardoned by Trump
President Trump has not been afraid to use pardon power early on in his term.
It's Friday, June 1, 2018. Here are some of the stories we're talking about on ABC News' new daily podcast, "Start Here."
1. Pardoning power
President Donald Trump granted the fifth pardon of his presidency to conservative commentator Dinesh D'Souza on Thursday, but he continued to flex his pardoning power by floating possible pardons for Martha Stewart and former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
The news comes a week after Trump granted a posthumous pardon to former heavyweight boxer Jack Johnson and a day after Kim Kardashian made a personal appeal to get a woman's life sentence commuted.
"The president seems to be doing a lot these days to remind us that he has a power to pardon people," ABC News Chief White House correspondent Jonathan Karl tells us, but is he trying to send a message?
The White House on Thursday denied that was the case, but ABC News presidential historian Mark Updegrove theorizes: "It might be [Trump] saying essentially that 'I'm forgiving this person of violating campaign laws and by the way it's probably going to be OK if you do it too because I might just pardon you.'"
"Start Here" is a daily ABC News podcast hosted by Brad Mielke featuring original reporting on stories that are driving the national conversation. Listen for FREE on the ABC News app, Apple Podcasts, TuneIn, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play Music, iHeartRadio -- or ask Alexa: "Play 'Start Here.'"
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2. Tariff trouble
We've heard stories for weeks about a potential trade war with China, but now our allies in the West are angry. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called new U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum “totally unacceptable.”
ABC News Chief Business Correspondent Rebecca Jarvis explains why.
3. Immigrant mother without child
There was a fury from the left over immigrant children disappearing from government radars and other immigrant children being separated from parents. Attorney General Jeff Sessions doubled down on the Trump administration’s policy and said people shouldn’t “smuggle” children across the border.
ABC News Chief National Affairs Correspondent Tom Llamas spoke to an undocumented immigrant affected by the policy whose son is being held by immigration authorities in Chicago.
4. Stormy season
We're entering another hurricane season, but eight months after Hurricane Maria, there are still many questions surrounding its impact on Puerto Rico -- how many people died because of the storm? And what's going to happen with the electrical system?
ABC News' Victor Oquendo is in Puerto Rico and he tells us whether people are more prepared than they were last year.
