The Note: Keeping An Eye On the Clintons
— -- NOTABLES
--'CLINTON CLASH' ALLEGATIONS WON'T FLY, BILL CLINTON SAYS: Winding down a two-week trip through Africa and the Middle East, President Clinton continued to defend foreign donations to the Clinton Foundation, saying yesterday that there was "no evidence," of any wrongdoing. "There's just no evidence," Clinton said that any foreign donations had influenced his wife during her time as Secretary of State. "Even the guy that wrote the book apparently had to admit under questioning that we didn't have a shred of evidence for this, we just sort of thought we would throw it out there and see if it flies and it won't fly." More from ABC's MOLLY HUNTER: http://abcn.ws/1GOYseu.
--CLINTON FOUNDATION TAKING CASH FROM ACCUSED RIGHTS VIOLATOR: Former President Bill Clinton and the Clinton Foundation's Global Initiative are being hosted this week at a five-star luxury hotel in Morocco by one of the world's most controversial mining companies, criticized for "serious human rights violations" by the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice. The Moroccan government-owned mining company OCP operates in disputed international territory in a remote part of the Saharan Desert and the firm has been criticized for removing the resources without adequately compensating the impoverished people who live there. "Any time the human rights of a population are systematically suppressed in this type of way it's a serious concern, and I think it's worthy of attention," said David McKean, who has studied the issue for the RFK center. OCP is paying $1 million to help host the prestigious event and throw a private cocktail reception, to the dismay of human rights activists. More from ABC's MATTHEW MOSK, BRIAN EPSTEIN and BRIAN ROSS and YAHOO NEWS' MICHAEL ISIKOFF: http://abcn.ws/1IhqmFG
--ANALYSIS -- ABC's RICK KLEIN: "I would do everything possible under the law to go even further," Hillary Clinton said Tuesday night in Nevada. The topic, of course, was immigration -- which President Obama has taken political and heat over for executive actions Clinton now says didn't go far enough. The response from Republicans, as reported in The Washington Post, was mostly silence. "She's expertly exploiting our party's internal problems," a former New Hampshire GOP chair, Fergus Cullen, told the Post. In the more immediate term, though, the move serves the purpose of protecting Clinton's left flank. Progressives are pushing Clinton to break with the president to his left; she's well-served, when an area of opportunity presents itself, to show appropriate daylight. This policy move, perhaps more than anything else Clinton has done over her near-month as a candidate, reveals the outlines of her roadmap.
--TODAY ON THE TRAIL with ABC's CHRIS GOOD: Ben Carson visits Baltimore, where he worked for 36 years. The Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon will meet with "faith and community leaders" at the Bilingual Church of Baltimore. Chris Christie will travel to New Hampshire for a series of events. Hillary Clinton remains in California for a fundraiser at the home of Israeli-American media mogul Haim Saban and a fundraiser luncheon with Barbara Boxer. Rick Perry is in New Hampshire while Mike Huckabee and Carly Fiorina are in Iowa.
THE BUZZ
with ABC's MICHELLE MANZIONE
CLINTON CHARITY MOVES MOROCCAN PARTY OUT OF VIEW. With its private collection of Arabian horses and a restaurant touting biolight cuisine, the Selman palace hotel in Marrakesh presented an opulent backdrop for Wednesday evening's reception for Clinton Foundation members and guests. Busloads of the Clinton Foundation's members and sponsors were shuttled here -- 30 minutes away from the conference hotel -- across the exotic, palm-lined city's ancient walled old city. Torches lined the hotel's gated entrance and a team of security comprised of retired U.S. Secret Service agents triple checked guests lists as they arrived. What happened at the event, however, remained hidden behind the sprawling resort's 12-foot-high walls, off limits to the press. When ABC News producers attempted to take pictures of guests arriving at the front entrance, Moroccan police threatened their arrest. The foundation's spokesman initially professed not to know where the reception was being held, and the location was among the only not included on schedules handed out to the media and published online. More from ABC's MATTHEW MOSK and BRIAN EPSTEIN: http://abcn.ws/1EckFm2
CARLY FIORINA SAYS WOUNDS ARE 'SELF-INFLICTED.' Speaking about her vision to restore America's fading potential; Carly Fiorina said yesterday that "every wound is self-inflicted." "I believe every problem we have can be resolved," she said on a call with supporters. "I believe every wound is self-inflicted." On the call, Fiorina, a former Hewlett-Packard CEO, emphasized the importance of technology in government. If elected, she said, "I would ask citizens to vote, on their smartphones, as people vote for 'American Idol' or 'The Voice' ... Do you think we should hold senior executives in the government accountable?" She would also "use technology to streamline every interaction" at the scandal-plagued VA and "reengage citizens in the process of their government." As for Hillary Clinton -- "She has no track record of accomplishment," Fiorina said; ABC's ERIN DOOLEY reports.
WHITE HOUSE RESPONDS TO HILARY CLINTON'S IMMIGRATION COMMENTS. The White House continues to insist the president did everything within the legal bounds of his executive authority to reform the immigration system, despite Hillary Clinton's comments earlier this week that she would go further and expand on the president's actions, according to ABC's MARY BRUCE. "The president's views on this have not changed," Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters yesterday. "In fact, we did take the extraordinary step of releasing the Office of Legal Counsel opinion, where we talked about the limits of executive authority when it comes to taking steps to reform our broken immigration system." Asked if it would be illegal for a future president to expand beyond what the president has done, Earnest punted. "I'm not a judge. I didn't go to law school. So, I'm not going to be in a position to render a legal opinion about [that]," he told ABC's JON KARL.
SIR ELTON JOHN CHALLENGES CONGRESS: Sir Elton John found himself in front of a microphone in the nation's capital yesterday, but not to perform any of the classic hits that have made him a household name. The British musician testified in front of the Senate Appropriations Committee and talked about his AIDS foundation's efforts, and pushed Congress to continue funding toward combating AIDS until the disease is completely eradicated. "This is the most powerful legislative body in the world," John said. "This Congress indeed has the power to end aids. I am asking you to use that power, to seize this window of opportunity, to change the course of history." More with ABC's ALEX MALLIN at http://abcn.ws/1cnuF5l.
WHO'S TWEETING?
@mollymhunter: .@BillClinton highlights almond farmer - says he's personally indebted - since his new diet, fmr pres drinks exclusively almond milk. #CGI
@tripgabriel: Come one, come all: Iowa Straw Poll deeply slashing costs to participate. Sounds like candidate interest has been low http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/05/its-time-to-change-the-iowa-straw-poll-117702.html …
@JamesPindell: Christie, who is in NH today and tomorrow, will quickly return to the state on Tuesday for a speech in Manchester #fitn #nhpolitics
@sahilkapur: NH Republican calls Hillary's big immigration move an attempt to "rip off our arms and beat us with the bloody ends." http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/why-clintons-immigration-speech-left-many-republican-rivals-speechless/2015/05/06/846bc592-f423-11e4-b2f3-af5479e6bbdd_story.html …
@moody: Why @CarlyFiorina is on a media blitz...and @HillaryClinton is not. http://cnn.it/1P3rSzm