Trump and his legal team argue that the president is above the law, and voters say that health care and immigration are two of the most important issues in the very close 2018 midterms. Then Rep. Luis Gutierrez calls from Puerto Rico to talk to Jon Favreau about the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

Show Notes:

Trump uses the Nixon Defense:

• New York Times: The Trump  Lawyer’s Confidential Memo to Mueller, Explained
• New York Times: Trump’s Lawyers, in Confidential Memo, Argue to Head Off a Historic Subpoena
• Lawfare: The Trump Legal Team’s Remarkable Letter to Mueller
• Washington Post: A president can’t obstruct justice? That’s not quite right, legal scholars say
• Vox: Trump’s legal memo to Robert Mueller is a recipe for tyranny
• Washington Post: In secret memo, Trump’s lawyers argued he has complete power over Justice investigations and could not have committed obstruction
• Politico: Trump allies hustle to prevent Mueller subpoena
• Mother Jones- Why the Bombshell Trump Letter Could Be a Big Problem for Donald Trump Jr.
• New York Times: Trump Says Appointment of Special Counsel is ‘Totally Unconstitutional’
• Washington Post: Trump says he has ‘absolute right’ to pardon himself of federal crimes but denies any wrongdoing
• Washington Post: Trump might be able to pardon himself. But he’d probably regret it.
• Slate: Performative Pardons

Rudy:

• Washington Post: Giuliani calls it ‘unthinkable’ that Trump would pardon himself
• Huffington Post – Giuliani: Trump Could Have Shot Comey And Still Couldn’t Be Indicted For It
• Vox: Giuliani: Trump “probably” can pardon himself. Trump: I “absolutely” can pardon myself.

Kevin McCarthy’s “no collusion” bullshit:

• The Hill: McCarthy: Russia probe should wrap up if there’s no collusion
• Examiner: Republican strategist: Kevin McCarthy disqualified himself today from House speakership

What do voters care about?:

• CBS News: CBS News Battleground Tracker: The House is a toss-up
• Twitter thread by Bloomberg’s Sahil Kapur
• Washinton Post: Why Virginia’s Medicaid expansion is a big deal
• Washington Post:  Conservative activists aren’t giving up their Obamacare repeal dream
• Wall Street Journal – New Push to Topple Affordable Care Act Looms
• New York Times: Opinion: The Plot Against Health Care
• Axios: Vulnerable Democrats campaign on opioids, drug prices
• Huffington Post: Obamacare Premiums Will Be Way Higher Next Year. They Didn’t Have To Be
• Vox: Democrats just previewed their secret weapon against Republicans in the 2018 midterms
• The Hill: States defy Trump on ObamaCare
• The Atlantic: The Disingenuousness of ‘Right to Try’

Immigration:

• CBS News: Face The Nation: Rep. Will Hurd says GOP members have votes to bring immigration bill to House floor
• Think Progress: McCain backs effort to bypass GOP leadership, force House vote on DACA
• Washington Post: Cops are called when a senator tries to see kids taken from their immigrant parents
• CNN: Dem senator accuses Trump admin of ‘cruel’ effort against immigrant children
• Washington Post: GOP candidates echo Trump on immigration as president transforms party in his image
• CBS News: Poll on immigration
• Washington Post: Opinion: Steve Bannon’s clever idea to save the GOP from brutal midterms

Congressman Luis V. Gutiérrez:

• New York Times: Puerto Rico’s Hurricane Maria Death Toll Could Exceed 4,000, New Study Estimates
• Gutierrez Statement on May 29, in wake of Harvard report
• New York Times: Protesters Demand Audit of Hurricane Maria Death Toll in Puerto Rico
• Washington Post: Opinion: The forgotten dead of Puerto Rico
• Vox: The shocking truth about the Hurricane Maria death toll is our Trump nightmare made real
• CNN: On Trump’s watch, the single most deadly natural disaster in modern America – Opinion
• Washington Post: Here’s how much more cable and broadcast news talked about Roseanne than Puerto Rico
• BuzzFeed: A New Hurricane Season Is Starting In Puerto Rico. Thousands Are Still Living Without Electricity
• New Yorker: The New Estimate of Deaths in Puerto Rico Reflects a Broader and Shameful Neglect
• The Atlantic: The True Scope of the Disaster in Puerto Rico
• New York Times: Puerto Rico’s Schools Are in Tumult, and Not Just Because of Hurricane Maria
• Politico: House Republicans careen toward immigration showdown
• Washington Post: GOP candidates echo Trump on immigration as president transforms party in his image
• Wall Street Journal: In Race to Succeed Paul Ryan, More Names Pop Up
• CNN: Trump says Senate Democrats are ‘resisting the will’ of voters
• New Yorker: How the Trump Administration Got Comfortable Separating Immigrant Kids from Their Parents
• Axios: The House and Senate return from a weeklong break.
• CNN: Rep. Gutierrez passes on presidential bid, will focus on mobilizing Latino voters
• WaPo: How one Chicago Democrat’s shutdown fight reveals the Democratic Party’s coming struggle
• Politico: Luis Gutiérrez’s totally abnormal retirement ploy
• Washington Post: Luis Gutierrez, fierce fighter for immigration reform
• Rolling Stone: Luis Gutiérrez: Congress’ Rebel With a Cause