The Note: Russia hearings will bring more noise…and a notable silence

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here.

May 23, 2017

MORE POLITICS >

Russia hearings will bring more noise…and a notable silence

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY What you

1. 22 dead, 59 injured in an explosion at a Manchester arena believed to be caused by a suicide bomber. 2. It's day four of Trump's foreign trip and so far today he's met with Palestinian President Abbas in Bethlehem, visited and delivered remarks at Yad Vashem, and gave a speech at the Israel Museum. 3. First Comey, now it's the director of NSA and DNI who Trump asked to push back against the FBI's probe into possible Trump-Russia collusion, WaPo reports. 4. Mike Flynn is planning on pleading the Fifth rather than turning over documents to Congress.

THE TAKE with ABC News' RICK KLEIN

We've reached the stage of the Russia investigations where those who don't speak could cause as much damage to President Trump as those who do. Start with Michael Flynn, whose decision to invoke the Fifth Amendment – and withhold documents from Senate discovery as well – suggests that he's focused entirely on protecting himself. Chris Christie's latest contribution to the story – "I wouldn't let Gen. Flynn into the White House, let alone give him a job," he said – only deepens the mystery of Trump's loyalty to a man he was warned about by the head of his transition team, the outgoing president, and the then-acting attorney general. Then there's ousted FBI director James Comey, who we now know won't appear in front of Congress before he coordinates with the new special counsel, Robert Mueller, who also happens to have been Comey's predecessor and a mentor. If Comey winds up not testifying, that will speak volumes about the direction of Mueller's investigation, under the presumption that Mueller considers Comey to be a witness in his inquiry. On this day that a former CIA director will be joined by the current NSA director and current DNI on the Hill, the stories that aren't being told are adding up fast.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"So many young, beautiful, innocent people living and enjoying their lives murdered by evil losers in life. I won't call them monsters because they would like that term. They would think that is a great name. I will call them from now on losers because that is what they are. They are losers." - President Trump on the deadly Manchester attack

THE SLEEPER STORY with ABC News' Shushannah Walshe

He's making himself "very clear." Gov. Chris Christie would never have given Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn a White House job - that's if it was up to him, of course. There's still all that talk of the New Jersey governor getting a White House job at some point; if that happens, he'll come having said, basically, "told you so." Christie said he didn't "need to feel vindicated," but he was right about Flynn. "If I were president-elect of the United States, I wouldn't let General Flynn into the White House, let alone give him a job," Christie said. He also made it known—again—he doesn't think his old friend is being well-served by staff, or by his own tweeting: "I think the president could be better served than he's been served," Christie told reporters.

OGE SETS UP SHOWDOWN WITH WH

"Highly unusual." That's what the head of the Office of Government Ethics has to say about how the White House is shrouding in secrecy the list of which former lobbyists got special waivers to serve in the government. It's a significant escalation of a feud between the OGE and the White House legal team, which has argued that top officials are not legally obligated to comply with longstanding ethics rules. OGE Chairman Walter Shaub hit back at the administration's attempt to block the release of information about the secret waivers, and said the administration must comply with the order by June 1. It sets up a showdown that could involve pressure from members of Congress concerned about weakening the OGE's oversight powers, ABC News' Alexander Mallin reports.

WHAT TO WATCH TODAY

1. Former CIA Director John Brennan is slated to appear before the House Intel Committee today as part of its probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election. 2. Expect that Washington Post report to come up as DNI Dan Coats and NSA Director Michael Rogers testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Trump's first budget calls for deep cuts to Medicaid, other safety net programs

President Trump's first budget proposal to Congress includes $1.7 trillion in mandatory spending cuts over 10 years, including $800 billion from Medicaid and $193 billion from food stamps, in an effort to balance the federal budget. The proposal for Fiscal Year 2018 includes sunny projections for economic growth and tax revenue. http://abcn.ws/2qP6RBj

Top Dem: Mike Flynn appeared to have lied to investigators

In a letter today to the committee's chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Maryland, urged the oversight chairman to subpoena the White House for documents that detail its process for vetting Flynn. Cummings said new documents show Flynn lied to investigators who were conducting his security clearance review. http://abcn.ws/2rKw9hZ