Ex-Trump aide plans to defy Mueller, says ‘arrest me’
WASHINGTON — A former Trump campaign aide promised to defy a subpoena from special counsel Robert Mueller and unloaded on President Donald Trump and his campaign, throwing down the challenge, “Arrest me.”
“Why do I have to do it?” Sam Nunberg told CNN of Mueller’s request to have him appear in front of a grand jury and turn over thousands of emails and other communications with other ex-officials, among them his mentor Roger Stone.
“I’m not cooperating,” Nunberg said later as he challenged officials to charge him.
Nunberg said he thinks Mueller may already have incriminating evidence on Trump directly, although he would not say what that evidence might be.
W. Virginia teacher strike headed
for a ninth day
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Striking teachers in West Virginia delivered yet another message to lawmakers Monday by packing the state Capitol to capacity, the eighth school day of the walkout.
The show of support by thousands didn’t immediately sway the lawmakers, who failed to agree on a 5 percent pay raise that would end the strike, forcing districts to cancel school again Tuesday. The governor, union leaders and the House of Delegates agreed to the pay raise for the teachers, among the lowest paid in the nation, but the Senate offered only a 4 percent increase.
A conference committee of House and Senate members met for more than an hour Monday but adjourned without an agreement, drawing the ire of teachers. Another meeting was planned later Monday night.
Senate Finance Chairman Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, and Senate Majority Leader Ryan Ferns, R-Ohio, said they remained skeptical that revised, higher revenue figures from Gov. Jim Justice to support the higher pay raises were legitimate. Blair suggested that schools reopen while the Legislature tries to work on the bills, prompting groans from the audience.
N. Korean dictator, Seoul envoys have ‘openhearted talk’
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has held an “openhearted talk” in Pyongyang with envoys for South Korean President Moon Jae-in, the North said Tuesday.
It’s the first time South Korean officials have met with the young North Korean leader in person since he took power after his dictator father’s death in late 2011 — and the latest sign that the Koreas are trying to mend ties after a year of repeated North Korean weapons tests and threats of nuclear war.
North Korea’s state media said Kim expressed his desire to “write a new history of national reunification” during a dinner Monday night that Seoul said lasted about four hours.
Given the robust history of bloodshed, threats and animosity on the Korean Peninsula, there is considerable skepticism over whether the Koreas’ apparent warming relations will lead to lasting peace.
By wire sources
