First Draft on Politics: 'The Absolute Right'

President Trump, ramping up his assertions of extraordinary powers, declared in a tweet on Monday that he had “the absolute right” to pardon himself for any crime. View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Tuesday, June 5, 2018 [NYTimes.com/Politics »]( [President Trump asserted in a Twitter post on Monday that he had “the absolute right” to pardon himself.] President Trump asserted in a Twitter post on Monday that he had “the absolute right” to pardon himself. Tom Brenner/The New York Times Good Tuesday morning, Here are some of the stories making news in Washington and politics today: - President Trump, ramping up his assertions of extraordinary powers, declared in a tweet that he had “the absolute right” to pardon himself for any crime. Mr. Trump and his legal advisers have argued that his authority places him [above the reach of obstruction statutes](. - Mr. Trump abruptly [called off the White House celebration]( honoring the Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles after nearly all of the players and coaches said they would boycott the visit. - The Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Colorado baker who had refused to create a wedding cake for a gay couple, leaving open the larger question of [whether a business can discriminate against gay men and lesbians]( based on rights protected by the First Amendment. - A sweeping Pentagon review of [elite United States commando missions]( is likely to result in a sharp cut — by as much as half over the next three years — in Special Operations forces in Africa. - A secret memo showed that Mr. Trump’s team pushed a false story line to deflect questions about a meeting with a Kremlin-tied lawyer. The deception [sums up the perils of a special counsel interview](. — The First Draft Team HAVE A CONFIDENTIAL NEWS TIP? Do you have the next big story? Want to share it with The New York Times? We offer several ways to get in touch with and provide materials to our journalists. [Learn More »]( ADVERTISEMENT Los Angeles | June 26, 7 p.m. [The Midterm Elections 2018: Prospects for Los Angeles, California and the Nation]( The Times’s Los Angeles bureau chief, Adam Nagourney, will moderate a discussion about the midterm elections with the White House correspondent Maggie Haberman; Nate Cohn, correspondent for “The Upshot,” and Alex Burns, a national political correspondent. What will the results mean for California and the nation? You’ll be in the room with four of the most respected political journalists in the field today. [• Buy tickets »]( News Analysis [Trump Greets Plans for North Korea-Syria Meeting With Deafening Silence]( By DAVID E. SANGER AND MARK LANDLER [President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, left, receiving diplomatic credentials from North Korea's new ambassador to Damascus, in a photograph released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency.]( President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, left, receiving diplomatic credentials from North Korea's new ambassador to Damascus, in a photograph released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency. Agence France-Presse — Getty Images When Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, met with top Chinese and Russian officials before a planned summit meeting with President Trump, the American leader raised a red flag. But North Korea’s announcement that [Mr. Kim is also planning to meet President Bashar al-Assad of Syria]( has brought no similar protest from Mr. Trump — even though Syria and North Korea have a longstanding shared history of nuclear proliferation. The last time Mr. Assad did business with the Kim family, the result was one of the most brazen cases of proliferation in history: North Korean engineers built a replica of their main nuclear reactor in the Syrian desert. It was the beginnings of a nuclear program that ended in fiery ruins in September 2007, when the building was destroyed in a secret Israeli bombing run. At the time, Vice President Dick Cheney and others in the George W. Bush administration argued that the United States should have bombed the reactor itself, to make a point about its seriousness in stopping the export of bomb-making technology. Now North Korea says it is resuming the relationship, and is expecting a visit to Pyongyang by Mr. Assad — who has rarely left Damascus since the uprising against his government began seven years ago. [Read more »](  [David Koch, left, and Charles Koch have long supported Republican candidates and causes, but have increasingly found themselves at odds with the president.]( [Conservative Koch Groups Plan Pro-Trade Blitz, as the Issue Splits Republicans]( By JIM TANKERSLEY The multimillion-dollar ad campaign comes as Republican lawmakers continue to express dismay over President Trump’s trade moves but insist they are powerless to stop it. [Richard Grenell became the United States ambassador to Germany last month. Germans are already questioning his diplomatic skills.]( [Promoting Europe’s Conservatives, U.S. Envoy Upsets Germans]( By MELISSA EDDY Ambassador Richard Grenell flouted protocol, saying he wanted to “empower” leaders challenging “failed policies of the left.” Berlin asked him to clarify. [Regina Bateson, a Democrat running for Congress in the California primary on Tuesday, at a fund-raising party in Auburn, Calif.]( [Facebook Tried to Rein In Fake Ads. It Fell Short in a California Race.]( By SHEERA FRENKEL Measures to prevent election interference remain spotty, as shown in the Fourth Congressional District’s Democratic primary. [Activists demonstrated in Washington in support of a young, undocumented immigrant seeking an abortion in Texas in October.]( [Supreme Court Rejects Bid to Discipline A.C.L.U.]( By ADAM LIPTAK The court vacated an appeals court ruling that had allowed a teenager to obtain an abortion, saying the dispute was moot. [Antonio Villaraigosa is counting on Latino voters to back him in the California primary for governor on Tuesday. Supporters listened to him speak at the state Democratic Party convention in San Diego in February.]( [How Latino Voting Power Will Count in the California Primary]( By JENNIFER MEDINA In the past, low turnout rates limited Latinos’ impact at the polls despite their large numbers in the state, but there are signs of greater engagement this year. [The president of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, right, welcomed the Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg in Brussels last month. Last year, Mr. Zuckerberg crisscrossed the United States in what looked very much like a listening tour in advance of a political campaign.]( [Schultz 2020? Other C.E.O.s Will Be Watching Closely]( By DAVID GELLES Several prominent chief executives are considering running for president. But “the history of business leaders in the White House has not been good.” [Michael D. Cohen, President Trump’s longtime lawyer, leaving court in New York last week.]( [Special Master in Cohen Case Finds Few Seized Materials Are Privileged]( By ALAN FEUER AND BENJAMIN WEISER Though she has not yet finished her review, the special master said that most of the records seized from Michael D. Cohen can be turned over to prosecutors. [President Trump dictated a misleading statement last year about his son’s meeting with a Kremlin-connected lawyer during the campaign, his lawyers have acknowledged, contradicting a series of denials by Trump advisers.]( [Associates Denied Trump Was Involved in Statement He Dictated]( By THE NEW YORK TIMES Their claims last summer contradict a memo obtained by The Times, in which Mr. Trump’s lawyers admit he dictated a misleading statement from Donald Trump Jr. about a Trump Tower meeting with a Russian lawyer. [The first lady, Melania Trump, on the day she rolled out Be Best, her official platform, last month. Mrs. Trump vanished from public view soon after.]( [Melania Trump Returns to the Public Eye (Sort Of)]( By KATIE ROGERS Mrs. Trump’s appearance at an event honoring military families ended the longest break anyone has taken from the role of first lady in modern memory. [President Trump took to Twitter on Monday to tout all that he had accomplished in his first 500 days in office.]( [With a Chorus of Tweets, Administration Officials Mark Trump’s 500 Days]( By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS The praise recalled a cabinet meeting last year in which the top officials on the president’s team took turns offering worshipful statements about him. [“I try not to worry about what I can’t control,” said Gil Cisneros, who has been backed by national Democrats in the campaign to replace Representative Ed Royce, who is retiring.]( [Californians Go to Polls With High Stakes and Some High Anxiety]( By JONATHAN MARTIN California is key to Democratic hopes for taking back control of the House. But first they must get though the state’s unusual “top-two” voting system. [Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers processed undocumented immigrants who were detained on April 11, 2018 at the Federal Building in lower Manhattan.]( Fact check of the day [500 Days In, Trump Boasts of Many Wins]( By MAYA SALAM On Monday, the president again took to Twitter to promote what he called his accomplishments in office so far on immigration, the economy and North Korea. LIKE THIS EMAIL? Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up [here](. And consider [subscribing to get unlimited access to nytimes.com and our apps.]( ADVERTISEMENT HOW ARE WE DOING? We’d love your feedback on this newsletter. Please email thoughts and suggestions to [washington-newsletter@nytimes.com](mailto:washington-newsletter@nytimes.com?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback). 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