Trump Calls Chabad Rabbi After Shooting – Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, the rabbi at the Chabad of Poway that suffered a deadly attack at the hands of a white nationalist on Pesach, said President Trump called him to offer his condolences. Rabbi Goldstein, who lost a finger in the attack, and has shown incredible resilience and faith since the shooting, said he and President Trump discussed how to confront rising anti-Semitism. The funeral for the Lori Gilbert-Kaye, the single casualty of the attack, was laid to rest in a large funeral attended federal and state lawmakers, law enforcement officials, and a representative of the Israeli government.
Barr Gives Congressional Testimony – Attorney General Bill Barr testified in front of a Congressional committee Wednesday, and publicly disagreed with Special Counsel Robert Mueller who complained that Barr’s summary of his investigation appropriate context and tone. Barr explained that after Mueller declined to make a decision whether to indict Trump for obstruction of justice, it was up to him and his deputies to decide whether charges were warranted. They ultimately concluded that there weren’t grounds to charge Trump with obstruction. Following his testimony, Democrats accused Barr of acting as Trump’s personal attorney and called for his resignation.
Rosenstein Resigns – Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein submitted his resignation to President Trump, effective May 11. Rosenstein, who had originally planned to leave the Justice Department sometime in March, chose to stay on until the completion of the Mueller investigation into interference by the Russians in the 2016 presidential election. Rosenstein began overseeing the investigation after then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself.
The Times Publishes Anti-Semitic Cartoon – The New York Times published a cartoon in their International section which depicted Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu as a dog wearing a Star of David leading a blind President Trump who had a yarlmuka perched on his head. After a massive outcry, the Times apologized, saying it was the fault of a single editor who was not properly supervised. Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, said the apology from the Times was not enough. “Those who engage in anti-Semitism must be punished, whether it’s here at the UN, political leaders, editors, policy pundits, or college professors,” said Danon.
Trump Sues To Block Financial Records Subpoena – President Trump, along with his children and the Trump Organization, filed a lawsuit to block Deutsche Bank and Capital One from handing over their financial records to Congressional investigators. The records were subpoenaed by two Democrat-led House committees who have opened a flurry of investigations into President Trump and his family’s financials. The lawsuit argues that Congress should not receive the records as the subpoenas were only issues in order to harass President Trump and cause him political damage.
Moore Withdraws From Fed Consideration – Stephen Moore, President Trump’s controversial pick for a seat on the Federal Reserve, has withdrawn his name from consideration for the position. Moore, an economist, had come under heavy fire for multiple past statements of his and economic policies that he supported. Several Republican Senators came out saying that they would not vote to confirm him, virtually guaranteeing that his nomination would be sunk in the Senate. Former GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain withdrew his own Federal Reserve nomination in late April.
