* One of the big stories of the day was the House Republicans grilling of FBI director James Comey on his investigation of Clinton’s emails. I’m with Nancy Pelosi on that one – it’s a rabbit hole.
“So let’s get this straight: This is going to be an investigation of the decision that is an investigation of the emails that was part of the investigation of Benghazi. So we had an investigation of the investigation of the investigation.”
“How long can this go on? How long can the Republicans ignore the work that we have been sent here to do?”
* Apparently Bernie Sanders is preparing to endorse Hillary Clinton. Meanwhile, he’s weighing in on her VP pick.
“I happen to believe that we should have as our vice presidential nominee a very strong progressive voice, somebody who has a history of standing up to big money interests, somebody who is gonna fight for the working families of this country and who has a history of doing that,” Sanders said.
When asked if Kaine met those requirements, Sanders responded, “I don’t want to comment on Tim Kaine.”
But should his former political rival select Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sanders said he “would be pleased,” calling the firebrand liberal who withheld her support of either Democratic candidate until after Clinton effectively clinched the nomination “one of the outstanding members of the United States Senate.”
This is precisely why I’ve been suggesting that Sec. of Labor Tom Perez would be a good choice. Kaine and Warren each appeal to different factions. Perez can unite them.
* Donald Trump went to Capitol Hill today, ostensibly to build party unity. It sounds like he did the opposite. Here are a few choice moments from his meeting with Republican Senators.
When [Sen. Jeff} Flake stood up and introduced himself, Trump told him, “You’ve been very critical of me.”
“Yes, I’m the other senator from Arizona — the one who didn’t get captured — and I want to talk to you about statements like that,” Flake responded, according to two Republican officials…
Trump said at the meeting that he has yet to attack Flake hard but threatened to begin doing so. Flake stood up to Trump by urging him to stop attacking Mexicans. Trump predicted that Flake would lose his reelection, at which point Flake informed Trump that he was not on the ballot this year, the sources said…
Trump also called out Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) — who withdrew his endorsement of Trump last month, citing the business mogul’s racially based attacks on a federal judge — and said he did not approve of the senator’s action, the officials said.
Characterizing Kirk as a loser, Trump vowed that he would carry Illinois in the general election even though the state traditionally has been solidly Democratic in presidential contests.
* Trump also met with Republican House members. Here’s the kicker from that one.
Another Republican in the meeting Rep. Mark Sanford (R-SC) told TPM that Trump was asked pointedly if he would defend Article I of the Constitution.
“Not only will I stand up for Article One,” Trump enthusiastically stated,
according to Sanford. “I’ll stand up for Article Two, Article 12, you name it of the Constitution.”Sanford said Trump’s lack of knowledge about how many articles exist, gave him “a little pause.” (The Constitution has seven articles and 27 amendments.)
* Finally, here’s a throw-back Thursday moment for you:
55yrs ago today I was released from Parchman Penitentiary after being arrested in Jackson for using “white” restroom pic.twitter.com/i4CMCrJ3Lh
— John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) July 7, 2016
