The Washington Post reports Jared Kushner is indeed the Trump senior adviser who is a person of interest in the FBI's Russia Probe.

"Person of interest" carries no legal connotation. It doesn't mean he's a subject or target of the investigation. Or even that he did something wrong. But the FBI still uses the term (see this poster from 2015) and in the public's view, the phrase has become synonymous with "suspect." Several articles today reinforce that view by saying Kushner is "under scrutiny", which suggests they aren't just looking to him for information about others. It's an unfortunate term that should be discarded.

As to what's being investigated, all the news reports I've read say the FBI is looking at financial crimes as well as ties to Russia. [More...]

Trump's budget proposal, containing massive reductions for almost every helpful government program, and which is being universally trashed and has little hope in passing, does contain a few increases.

Trump is asking for more money for his security detail and his White House staff and the VP residence. Here's the form. [More...]

Reuters reports Trump has retained his long time lawyer Marc Kasowitz, who is partners with Joe Lieberman, to represent him in the Russia Probe.

This must be why the Washington Post is reporting Lieberman is no longer Trump's top pick to lead the FBI.

Question: Why did Melania and Ivanka cover up for the Pope but not Saudi Arabia? The media attempts to answer. And here's a covered up Melania holding hands with Donald. I guess he doesn't take no for an answer.

More of Melania's black head cover. Also here. Check out the odd shape. Here is the entire look. Here's Ivanka's veil. If you ask me, both she and Ivanka look like they are dressed for a funeral.

I have my doubts Donald Trump can even read 40 documents, but in Saudi Arabia, he signed the United States' name to them anyway. We're now a party to 40 economic agreements totaling $350 billion , (or $280 billion,depending on which press release you read) most of which, from what I can tell, create jobs for the Saudis in Saudi Arabia, give them a huge amount of war toys and line the pockets of the shareholders of companies like Dow Chemical, Lockheed Martin and General Electric.

The Saudi Official News page for the economic summit couldn't be more different than the spin Donald Trump is putting out. Examples: [More...]

Ivanka Trump took her father's place at a Saudi evening Twitter forum on social media. (He was a no-show, no explanation given.)

There she talked about the 'great Saudi entrepreneurs' she had met throughout the day and marveled that the Global Center for Combatting Extremist Ideology was built in just 30 days.

'That is entrepreneurialism,' she cheered. 'And I may need to borrow those contractors for our next construction project, maybe infrastructure, it was incredibly impressive and the message was very meaningful.'

"Our new construction project?" I thought she had resigned her position with Trump Org., leaving the running of it to her brothers. [More..]

Senators Richard Burr and Mark Warner announced tonight that James Comey has agreed to testify before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in a public session. This will happen after Memorial Day.

The New York Times reports Donald Trump called James Comey a "nut job" during his meeting with Russian officials the day after he fired Comey. Trump also reportedly said by firing Comey, the pressure was off him.

“I just fired the head of the F.B.I. He was crazy, a real nut job,” Mr. Trump said, according to the document, which was read to The New York Times by an American official. “I faced great pressure because of Russia. That’s taken off.” Mr. Trump added, “I’m not under investigation.”

Fasten your seatbelts, Trump and his relatives are about to embark a tour of the Middle East. It goes without saying, almost everything he does will bring a groan or an eye roll and be great fodder for late night talk shows, but what how much damage can he do with the deals he intending on committing us to?

Trump is not the first U.S. President to visit Saudi Arabia. Richard Nixon went there in June, 1974. While there he made an economic "deal with the devil" --oil for dollars. Here's his speech. Nixon resigned less than two months later, and we're still stuck with his deal. Here's the untold story, according to Bloomberg News.

The first clue that this visit will be bad news for the U.S. economically is how excited Saudi Arabia is about Trump's visit. It has set up this website to track events. It sounds like the counter-terror aspect is a front for the trips real purpose: economic advantages Trump is offering these countries. From a Saudi press release today: [More....]

Reuters, in an article on Donald Trump's upcoming first foreign trip, reports:

Conversations with some officials who have briefed Trump and others who are aware of how he absorbs information portray a president with a short attention span. He likes single-page memos and visual aids like maps, charts, graphs and photos.

National Security Council officials have strategically included Trump's name in "as many paragraphs as we can because he keeps reading if he's mentioned," according to one source, who relayed conversations he had with NSC officials. (my emphasis).

Why am I not surprised?

In the Atlantic: The Week the Trump [Administration] Fell Apart (I still won't print the P word with Trump.)

Further developments yesterday: James Comey took notes.

Israel reportedly managed to infiltrate ISIS and learn of its laptop bomb plan, and now its spy is at risk.

The Washington Post reports Trump met with Russian officials and their photographer at the White House as a favor to Vladimir Putin. [More...]

On Sirius this afternoon, driving back from the jail, CNN's host and guests were practically hyper-ventilating over the latest report in the Washington Post that Trump leaked information about ISIS to Russia that was so sensitive the U.S. had not even shared it with its allies.

CNN said the White House put out a denial that didn't address the substance of the WaPO report, but instead denied things that weren't alleged. There was some doubt expressed as to whether a statement the White House released in Tillerson's name even knew about it before hand, as none of the high up officials in the State Dept. that CNN reporters talked to seemed to know about it in advance. [More...]

Donald Trump tells NBC's Lester Holt he decided to fire Comey before asking for Rosenstein's report.

"I was going to fire Comey-- my decision. There is no good time to do it, by the way," Trump told NBC News’s Lester Holt. “I was going to fire regardless of recommendation."

This contradicts Trump's firing letter which said he was acting at the recommendation of Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions and Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod J. Rosenstein in firing Comey.

His staff said several times he talked to Sessions and Rosenstein about Comey on Monday and decided to fire him Tuesday based on their recommendation. [More...]

Donald Trump's approval rating keeps on slipping. A new Quinnipiac University national poll released today (and conducted before Comey's firing)reports a 58 percent job disappproval rating. His approval rating is 36%.

Among the big losses: "white voters with no college degree, white men and independent voters."

• 66% believe he is not level-headed
• 64% believe he does not share their values
• 61% believe he is not honest.
• 59% believe he doesn't care about average Americans.

[More...]