TAKING A NEW TURN: With his unblemished record, Special Counsel Robert Mueller is indisputably independent, known by those in both parties for being honest, straightforward, and by the books; that's why he was hired to probe Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. With the investigation taking a new, more serious turn and looking at Trump’s role in obstructing justice, Mueller has his sights set on interviews with Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, NSA chief Mike Rodgers, and Rodgers’ recently departed deputy Richard Ledgett. In typical Trump fashion, he took to Twitter to shift the focus calling the FBI investigation a “witch hunt.” The Trump Administration chose to solely focus on how “outrageous” it is that the FBI leaked this information about the probe into Trump as opposed to clearing his name and moving past this never ending issue. Trump simply can’t avoid the opportunity to bring up “crooked Hillary” and remind himself and his base who won the election. Once again he is raising the temperature instead of lowering it. Let’s put it this way, if he attempts to fire Mueller or start a war of words with him, nothing good will come of it other than serious self-inflicted damage - with Mueller staying above the fray and winning the day.
THE APPRENTICE, WASHINGTON: We almost forgot this week was Work Force Development Week (aka Jobs Week) for the Administration, partially because of the number of cancelled events from the horrific shooting and partially because there have been no tangible policy proposals. Trump’s one main focus, apprenticeships, is something he has found great success with through his companies not to mention his reality tv show. Before signing an apprenticeship program executive order at the White House, Trump weighed in on job growth saying that, “some very good numbers” are coming about the U.S. GDP. According to Keith Mccullough, Hedgeye’s CEO, there’s a lot more to these numbers than politics... find out more here.
A LITTLE DAP’L DO ‘YA: We are keeping an eye on a lawsuit filed against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that has potential to stop use of the Dakota Access Pipeline. While one of Trump’s first orders of business was to get oil flowing after a two-year long, multi million dollar battle, the fight is not over. A judge believes the corps did not adequately consider the impact on the environment, including hunting and fishing. Next step is a waiting game to see if litigators can win an injunction to temporarily stop oil flow while they wait for trial.
REDISTRICTING REPERCUSSIONS: Reshaping America’s political landscape might literally mean just that - reshaping how Congressional districts are drawn impacting future elections and control of the House. SCOTUS found that North Carolina voting districts were drawn disproportionately around African-Americans in an attempt to concentrate the Democratic vote. Now, Wisconsin, Texas, and Alabama are filing similar suits. Alabama State Legislators have accused the former Governor of mapping districts based on race to hurt Democrats in future elections. Wisconsin however, was already successful in redistricting after a 2011 election left all branches of government controlled by Republicans. The suits filed against Alabama and Wisconsin's gerrymandering are expected to reach SCOTUS, and if it happens before midterms the House could lose Republican seats.
THE FATE OF THE TRAVEL BAN: In the coming days, SCOTUS will decide whether to lift the temporary injunction on President Trump’s travel ban. Critics of the ban in lower courts have fought the policy since the day it was announced calling it “unconstitutional.” Because of the importance of this case, the Court will schedule special times to hear oral arguments before they break in order to get a ruling out as soon as possible. On Wednesday, Trump once again made changes to the ban in order to prevent SCOTUS from declaring the policy moot. There are many options that both the Administration and the Court can take and we’ll have a better sense of that direction at the beginning of next week.
BLACK BOOK ON FY18 U.S. DEFENSE BUDGET ENVIRONMENT: Our Senior Defense Analyst Emo Gardner examined the U.S. defense budget environment where sky high expectations for increased defense spending are driving defense stocks to all time highs. If you care about defense spending - you can’t miss this. Get the replay details here.
CALL INVITE | GEN. DAN CHRISTMAN DISCUSSES TRUMP’S EMERGING FOREIGN POLICY DOCTRINE: Monday, June 19th at 11am ET - Hedgeye is hosting a call with our senior advisor General Dan Christman to discuss the dimensions and dynamics of President Trump's emerging foreign policy doctrine five months into office. Get more details here.
COURT VICTORY FOR SINCLAIR-TRIBUNE DEAL: Our Senior Telecomm/Cable analyst Paul Glenchur writes that The DC Circuit rejected a stay of the UHF discount method, easing broadcast ownership expansion - for now. You can read the full piece here.
