OnPolitics Today: 'Great, now I can go after Horseface'

FROM WASHINGTON AND BEYOND

Tuesday, October 16

Stormy Daniels, also known as Stephanie Clifford, speaks to reporters with her attorney Michael Avenatti outside of federal court in New York City April 16.

'She knows nothing about me, a total con!'

Also in this edition: Trump bashes Warren's DNA test and the latest on Khashoggi's disappearance

Today's subject line quote: President Donald Trump, saying he can now "go after" porn star Stormy Daniels after her defamation lawsuit was dismissed.

Happy Tuesday, OP friends. There's been quite an unusual mix of stories today that include immigration, DNA tests and horses (!?) Let's get down to it.

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Trump says Warren's DNA test was 'bogus'

Elizabeth Warren

JOSEPH PREZIOSO, AFP/Getty Images

It didn't take long for President Donald Trump to poke holes in the DNA test Elizabeth Warren released, showing she has Native American ancestry.

"Pocahontas (the bad version), sometimes referred to as Elizabeth Warren, is getting slammed," Trump tweeted. "She took a bogus DNA test and it showed that she may be 1/1024, far less than the average American. Now Cherokee Nation denies her, 'DNA test is useless.' Even they don't want her. Phony!"

Warren, a potential Democratic presidential contender for 2020, lashed back later that morning, calling the nickname "recycled racist name-calling."

Warren released the test results publicly on Monday after years of criticism by Republicans who say Warren, a former law professor, used her claim of Native American ancestry to gain an advantage in the academic world, where there is a strong emphasis on diversity in hiring.

Tweet of the Day

So many thoughts.

Screenshot via Twitter

"File under things I never said before in newsroom: 'What's the historical origin of horseface? As a term for ugly? Horses are kinda beautiful.'" - Washington Post reporter Paul Kane after the president's tweet about Stormy Daniels.

Saudi prince 'denied any knowledge' of journalist's disappearance

The ongoing controversy over the disappearance of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi seems no closer to a resolution.

President Trump talked with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday and said he "totally denied any knowledge of what took place in their Turkish Consulate."

Khashoggi was last spotted on surveillance walking into the consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. He was not seen leaving.

Turkish officials said they have evidence Khashoggi was killed and dismembered inside the diplomatic compound, but Saudi officials called the allegations "baseless."

Trump promised that "answers will be forthcoming shortly" about what happened to Khashoggi.

His disappearance could strain relations between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, a strong ally in the Middle East. Some lawmakers have suggested sanctions while others have questioned whether the United States should halt a $110 billion arms sale to the country if it's confirmed Khashoggi was assassinated.

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•	Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin both plan to be in Paris on Nov. 11
•	Midterms: Here are the senators being outraised by their challengers before the Nov. 6 elections
•	Trump increases deportations to Mauritania, where slavery dominates culture
•	Joe Biden holds big lead over other potential 2020 Democratic candidates
•	Midterms: Health care is a key national issue but the real action may happen at state level
•	FBI official broke rules getting sports tickets from reporters, inspector general says