Trump Touts Nuclear Arsenal On Twitter, Why Mueller Is Examining Trump's Finances, And Cohen's $40k+ In Unpaid Taxes

August 9th, 2017 Top Stories --------------------------------------------------------------- [No, Looking At Trump Biz Doesn’t Make Mueller Probe A ‘Fishing Expedition’]( The Gist: Recent reports that special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe is focusing on the finances of Donald Trump and his associates prompted the President’s defenders to cry foul about what they see as a burgeoning “fishing expedition.” But former federal prosecutors said looking at the financial relationships that connect Trump associates to Russia is par for the course for an investigation like this. They told TPM they would have been more surprised had Mueller not included those financial ties in his purview. [Michael Cohen Owes NY More Than $40K In Unpaid Taxes From His Taxi Biz]( The Gist: Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s “pit bull” personal attorney, owes New York state more than $40,000 in unpaid taxes through some of the lucrative taxi medallions he owns. The New York Daily News first reported Tuesday that Cohen owed nearly $40,000 in unpaid taxes earmarked to help finance the Metropolitan Transit Authority system. A TPM review of state records confirmed that New York’s Department of Taxation and Finance this year filed seven warrants totaling $43,673.96 against four of Cohen’s medallion corporations. [Trump Touts Nuclear Arsenal In Tweets After Warning On North Korea]( The Gist: After President Donald Trump warned North Korea on Tuesday that the United States would meet any new North Korean nuclear capabilities with “fire and fury,” the President on Wednesday morning touted the United States’ nuclear arsenal in a series of tweets. From The Reporter's Notebook --------------------------------------------------------------- Jared Kushner owned a stake in his brother’s Obamacare-dependent health insurance company when it hired lobbyists to fight repeal of the law shortly before he divested from it earlier this year, [TPM's Cameron Joseph reports](. “One major holding of multiple Thrive Capital funds is Oscar Health Insurance. Mr. Kushner’s continuing interest in Oscar could require his recusal from a variety of particular matters that will have a direct and predictable effect on the health insurance industry,” White House Deputy Counsel Stefan Passantino wrote to the Office of Government Ethics in a letter explaining what Kushner would need to sell his holdings. Seemingly unbeknownst to Passantino, and possibly to Kushner: Oscar had just hired lobbyists to fight Trump's first big legislative push, repealing Obamacare. Agree Or Disagree? --------------------------------------------------------------- Josh Marshall: "North Korea is a really bad and dangerous situation to start with. It was bad when President Obama left office. It’s gotten much worse since – through some mix of US threats and North Korea testing out the new administration. [The worst possible thing]( is a President who is stupid, impulsively emotional and has something to prove, which is exactly what we have. You think his litany of failures as President so far doesn’t make him eager for a breakout, transformative moment?" Say What?! --------------------------------------------------------------- "I think what the President is doing is sending a strong message in language that Kim Jong-un can understand because he doesn’t seem to understand diplomatic language." - Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday [defending]( Trump’s “fire and fury” response to North Korea's nuclear weapons advancement as Trump just speaking the North Korean leader's language. BUZZING: Today in the Hive --------------------------------------------------------------- From a TPM Prime member: "Those of us who are parents would never allow our 9-year old to receive only positive affirmation because we know it's unhealthy. This is crazier and more immature than all of the behavior for which Kim Jung-un is mocked (and I know it isn't a good day to joke about the North Korean leader)." Related: [Report: Trump Receives ‘Propaganda Document’ That’s Only Good News]( Have something to add? Become a [Prime]( member and join the discussion [here](. What We're Reading --------------------------------------------------------------- When Silicon Valley Took Over Journalism ([The Atlantic]( ‘Virtue Signaling’ Isn’t The Problem. Not Believing One Another Is. ([The New York Times]( [unsubscribe from this list]( | [update subscription preferences]( | [view email in browser](