Tim Pawlenty's Bailout Shuffle

“Sen. Bob Menendez will be allowed to argue at his federal corruption trial that he thought he was acting for the ‘good of the public’ when helping Egypt and Qatar, while prosecutors will be able to present evidence to the jury that they allege shows the lawmaker and his wife took bribes in a scheme involving the foreign governments to fund their lavish lifestyle.” CNN reports.

“Rep. Henry Cuellar’s (D-TX) indictment marks the third high-profile Hispanic lawmaker to have been indicted in recent months,” Politico reports. “Critically, the influential Congressional Hispanic Caucus is coming to his defense.” “That’s a marked difference from how the group treated Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N. J.), a fellow member who was indicted on charges that he and his wife accepted bribes in forms of cash, a car and gold bars to help aid the Egyptian government.

The RNC has hired 28-year-old former bikini model Elizabeth Pipko as one of its newest spokespeople, the New York Post reports.

“Donald Trump will return to Minnesota next week as he tries to add the state to his electoral calculations despite two prior defeats,” MPR News reports. “Trump has reportedly told donors and other associates that he has a pathway to flip Minnesota, a state that Democrats have had a lock on in presidential races for longer than anywhere else.

Prosecutors in Donald Trump’s “hush money” trial said they have “a little more than two weeks of their case left, citing a few Fridays off in the coming weeks,” the New York Times reports. “After that, the defense can put on a case, but does not have to. And after that, we will get closing arguments and the case will go to the jury.”

“A U. S. soldier was detained in Russia last week,” NBC News reports. “He had been stationed in South Korea and traveled to Russia on his own and not on official business.”