House May Have To Revote On Health Care Bill, And More Trump News From Thursday

Thursday, May 18th. Day 118.

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Top Stories

• Trump Refused To Follow Protocol In Contacting The FBI: The New York Times reports that former FBI director James Comey was "unsettled" by Trump's repeated attempts to contact him personally and "get him on board," in the words of Comey's friend Benjamin Wittes. Of particular concern was a call in which Trump called Comey and "asked him when federal authorities were going to put out word that Mr. Trump was not personally under investigation." Comey tried to get Trump to follow "proper procedures" by having the White House counsel reach out to the Justice Department, but to no avail.

• House Republicans May Have To Revote On Healthcare Bill: House Republicans may have to revote on the contentious healthcare bill that barely passed less than a month ago. According to Bloomberg, the bill has still not been sent to the Senate because parts of it may have to be reformulated after it receives a score from the Congressional Budget Office.
• Trump Wants Flynn Back: The Daily Beast reports that President Trump pressured a reluctant Flynn to take the job of National Security Adviser, despite an active FBI investigation into the General, and now feels so guilty about having to fire him that he plans to hire Flynn back if he's acquitted. 
• Members Of The Trump Campaign Were In Contact With Russia Throughout The Latter Stages Of The Election: Reuters reports that members of the Trump campaign were in contact with Russian officials at least 18 times between April and November 2016. The calls and emails are being reviewed as part of the FBI's probe. 

• Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein To Testify Before Senate: Originally invited by the Senate to testify about the firing of FBI Director James Comey and his role in it, Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein will also probably discuss his latest action: appointing a Special Counsel in the Trump/Russia investigation. Today, it was revealed that Rosenstein knew about Comey's firing before he wrote the letter that ultimately was used to justify it, according to Politico.

• Trump Team Knew That Michael Flynn Was Under Investigation Before They Appointed Him National Security Adviser: The New York Times reported Wednesday evening that Flynn informed the Trump transition team's chief lawyer in January that he was being investigated for secretly taking money from Turkey. The revelation shows the Trump team was aware of Flynn being under investigation far earlier than previously thought. In a separate report, McLatchy writes that shortly before Trump's inauguration, Flynn stopped a US military plan which Turkey opposed.

• Justice Department Appoints Special Counsel For Russia Investigation: In a press release, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday evening that it would be appointing former FBI director Robert Meuller to oversee the investigation of Russian election interference, including "related matters". Meuller served under President Obama until 2013 and is currently employed at a private law firm. The appointment was reportedly made by Rod Rosenstein, the second-in-command at the Justice Department, who has overseen the Russia investigation after Jeff Sessions recused himself. 

Other Stories

• Trump To Interview Joe Lieberman For FBI Role [Politico]

Trump's Tweets

Here's what happened Wednesday.