Spiegel Stuff: The Hill's Morning Report — Trump team pledges election security after Facebook revelations | Manafort’s attorneys blame associate Gates | Judge blocks spread of 3D printing plans for guns | Senators gain scant data about family separations | Bipartisan Senate deal on spending overtakes Trump’s shutdown talk | Dems dig through Kavanaugh files | Trump assails Koch network

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The revelation that Facebook uncovered new and “sophisticated” efforts to influence U.S. politics through fake accounts and paid advertisements has reignited fears on Capitol Hill that foreign governments are looking to interfere in the 2018 midterm elections.

Facebook did not say who was behind the efforts or whether they were aimed directly at influencing the 2018 midterm elections, but the timing and content of the posts has raised suspicions in Washington that a Russian interference campaign is already underway.

The New York Times: Facebook has identified ongoing political influence campaign.

The details

> Mark Zuckerberg’s company removed 32 Facebook or Instagram accounts it determined to be fake. About 300,000 people followed at least one of these accounts.

> The accounts had names like “Black Elevation” and “Resisters.” Russian operatives set up fake accounts with similar names in 2016 in an effort to stoke racial, cultural, political and social discord on the right and the left.

> The accounts and advertisements were active between April 2017 and June 2018.

Democrats did not hesitate to cast blame on Russia.

“Malicious foreign actors bearing the hallmarks of previously-identified Russian influence campaigns continue to abuse and weaponize social media platforms to influence the U.S. electorate.” – House Intelligence Committee ranking member Adam Schiff (D-Calif.)

President Trump has been equivocal at times over whether he agrees with the assessment of the intelligence community — including his own senior officials — that the Russians interfered in the 2016 election. That has led to criticism that the White House is not taking election security seriously enough.

But on Tuesday, following the reports about Facebook’s findings, the Trump administration responded swiftly and directly:

“We will continue to work tirelessly to prevent foreign nations and malign actors from hacking into our election infrastructure with the potential of changing votes or election outcomes. When it comes to stopping our cyber-adversaries, resilience isn’t enough. We must also be prepared to respond – and in this White House, we are.” – Vice President Pence.

“This threat is very real and Americans need to know that. The Russians, or whoever it is in this case — we haven’t attributed it — but Russians and other nation states absolutely are attempting to manipulate us." – Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen.

On Friday, Trump convened a meeting with the National Security Council to discuss threats to the U.S. elections system. The issue has been dominating in the Senate. On Tuesday, Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) released a pair of bipartisan bills aimed at bolstering U.S. elections infrastructure.

Still, the president’s primary focus is on special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into whether his campaign had improper contacts with Moscow during the 2016 election.

The new line being put out by Trump and his legal team: There was not collusion but even if there was, collusion is not a crime.

Speaking of Mueller, the trial for Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort began on Tuesday at a Virginia courthouse. The charges against Manafort pertain to corruption and financial fraud from foreign lobbying work that he did. He is not charged with any crimes related to the 2016 presidential campaign.

Jonathan Turley: Manafort gambles against all odds at trial.

A few interesting developments here….

> Manafort has been accused of tampering with witnesses and a judge ruled he must stay in jail during his trial because he is a “risk” to the community.

> Manafort’s lawyers argued that his longtime associate Richard Gates is to blame, accusing him of having “his hand in the cookie jar” and “lining his own pockets,” unbeknownst to Manafort.

> Government lawyers detailed Manafort’s 30 overseas accounts and said he took in more than $60 million working for Ukrainian officials. Manafort is accused of not reporting all of that income and failing to pay taxes on it in order to maintain a lavish lifestyle.

More from around the web...

CNN: Mueller refers foreign agent inquiries to New York prosecutors, including for two Democrats.

Bloomberg: Forget collusion, conspiracy is the watchword in Mueller’s finding.

The Associated Press: Trump criticized for not doing more to secure elections.

Poll: Majority say FBI showed bias in investigations into Trump, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

LEADING THE DAY

CONGRESS: The fate of migrant parents and their children, printable gun blueprints, and funding the government this fall made headlines on Tuesday....

Immigration – family reunifications: The Senate Judiciary Committee made scant headway while seeking additional information from administration officials on Tuesday about the “zero tolerance” enforcement policy at the border that resulted in some 2,500 children separated from their migrant parents.

They learned that 559 children remain in federal custody without their families (CNN). Most of those children in the United States remain separated because their parents were deported. What happens next for them remains unclear, and administration officials said they await federal court instructions about how to proceed.

There appeared to be bipartisan consensus among senators on Tuesday that the effects of the policy aimed at deterring illegal immigration proved chaotic and poorly planned, psychologically scarring for many children and their parents, and delivered an international black eye to the United States.

> Senators also learned that Jonathan White, the Health and Human Services Department assistant secretary for preparedness and response, said he warned unnamed officials that the practice of “separation of children from their parents entails significant potential for traumatic psychological injury to the child” (Bloomberg).

> Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) called on Nielsen to resign (The Hill). Pro-immigration advocacy group America’s Voice was among those echoing Durbin’s stance.

> Administration officials during the hearing defended the handling of family separations (The Associated Press).

> The bipartisan leaders of the Judiciary Committee said they want a federal investigation of allegations of immigrant abuses (The Associated Press).

Separately … A bipartisan group of senators will meet privately today on Capitol Hill to try to hash out a new starting point for legislative steps to deal with families detained and subject to deportation at the border (The Hill) … Trump meets with GOP senators this afternoon in the Oval Office … Politico reports on the chances of the first black Speaker of the House in 2019.

Printable 3D guns: On Tuesday, Trump waded into a debate about guns created with 3D printers (The Associated Press). The president has been under heavy pressure to block the sharing of blueprints used to create the hard-to-detect weapons. Trump tweeted early on Tuesday that he’s consulting with the National Rifle Association (The Hill), but he was overtaken by intervention from a federal judge in Seattle.

The guns issue erupted because the State Department in June settled a case against a Texas company that wants to provide directions that would allow people to print their own weapons. The government had given that firm the green light.

Eight states filed suit against the administration on Monday, asking a judge to block the government’s settlement, arguing it risked public safety (Philadelphia Inquirer). Late on Tuesday, a judge agreed and issued a temporary restraining order to block the public release of 3D printing plans.

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), who is running for reelection in a state still reeling after the Parkland school shootings, cheered the judge’s decision and wasted no time before filing legislation on Tuesday that would make it illegal for anyone to intentionally publish a digital file online that programs a 3D printer to manufacture a firearm.

“These 3D-printed plastic firearms can evade our detection systems and are a direct threat to our national security.” – Nelson

Government spending: GOP House leaders want to rein in the renegade House Freedom Caucus by giving Senate Republicans more leverage over negotiations to fund the government by September (The Hill).

> Tackling pieces of the budget and navigating around Trump’s threats of a shutdown, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) says he reached a deal with Democrats to move a major spending package next month that would fund the Pentagon, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Labor (The Hill).

> The president tweeted that he doesn’t care about the political ramifications of shutting down the government before the midterm elections (The Hill). Yet privately, Trump backs a plan to put off a potential showdown on spending and immigration (The Wall Street Journal).

Supreme Court: Senate Democrats asked the National Archives for all its records dealing with Brett Kavanaugh, Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court (The Washington Post). The archives publicly released a collection of Kavanaugh documents on Monday (The Hill).

****

POLITICS & CAMPAIGNS: Trump campaigned in Florida last night, as he seeks to elect key allies while laying the groundwork for his own reelection bid in the perennial swing state.

The president is backing Gov. Rick Scott (R), who is seeking to unseat Nelson. He’s also supporting Rep. Ron DeSantis (R), the Freedom Caucus member who is hoping to succeed Scott in the governor’s mansion.

“I’d like to introduce a true leader, a proud veteran, my great friend, a tough, brilliant cookie — true, he's tough, he's smart and he loves Florida and he loves our country and he's going to be your next governor — Ron DeSantis.” — Trump

DeSantis was once in a tight race against his GOP primary opponent Adam Putnam. But several recent surveys have found DeSantis opening up a healthy lead, another sign of Trump’s sway within the Republican Party.

The president will hit the campaign trail once again on Thursday in Pennsylvania, another swing state that broke his way in 2016.

> UPSET ALERT ...The GOP is battling to hold on to a seat in a reliably Republican district in a special election in Ohio’s 12^th District next week. Pence visited there on Monday, as Republicans try to pull state Sen. Troy Balderson over the finish line. Polls show Democrat Danny O'Connor within 10 points. Trump won the district by more than 11 points in 2016. University of Virginia political analyst Larry Sabato has the race rated as a toss-up.

If O’Connor pulls it off, it would be another bad sign for Republicans ahead of what’s expected to be a tough midterm election cycle in the House.

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Trump to hold rally Saturday in Ohio to help Balderson.

The Hill: Trump hopes to boost turnout in Balderson v. O’Connor race.

> Who will carry the progressive mantle for Democrats in the 2020 presidential election? That’s the question The Hill’s Amie Parnes set out to answer. She discovered that Democrats believe there is not enough room in the field for both Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

There could be two dozen Democratic presidential candidates or more in 2020. How the field shakes out will be fascinating to watch. We know how it unfolded for Republicans in 2016 when they fielded that big of a crowd…

Rich Lowry: Like it or not, America is now seriously debating socialism.

> And finally…

No slight goes unanswered with Trump. The president is now lashing out at billionaire conservative donors Charles and David Koch.

The Koch network has been thrilled with the GOP’s tax-cuts bill and deregulation efforts. They fully support the president’s Supreme Court nominees and judicial confirmations.

But the Morning Report told you the past few days about how Charles Koch and senior officials within the network vented their frustration with the administration’s trade policies and what they described as the president’s divisive rhetoric.

They’re angered by the president’s trade war and the $1.3 trillion spending package Trump signed into law, and eager to work with Democrats on issues like immigration and criminal justice reform.

The free-market conservatives in the network prioritize ideology ahead of party identity and will no longer be giving a pass to Republicans they believe have strayed from their fiscally conservative principles.

IN FOCUS/SHARP TAKES

➔ WHITE HOUSE: Trump chief of staff John Kelly told staff on Monday the president asked him to remain in his post through the 2020 presidential election, a request that comes as tensions between the two men have eased in recent months. Kelly told staff he agreed to stay (The Wall Street Journal).

Kelly is Trump’s second chief of staff. He’s served a year in the demanding role, and much has been written about his frustrations and signs that his influence with the president ebbed this year (The Hill).

> The White House daily press briefing under Trump has become less frequent, less helpful to understanding governance and combative as the press secretary speaks for the United States. In all of July, the White House devoted a total of 58 minutes to the long-traditional “daily” televised briefing for journalists (CNN).

> The president on Tuesday announced his intention to nominate Kelvin Droegemeier, a specialist in extreme weather, to be director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the top science job advising the West Wing. The post has been vacant since Trump’s inauguration (The Washington Post).

➔ ADMINISTRATION: The departments of Justice and Labor announced an agreement Tuesday to join forces to crack down on companies that "discriminate" against U.S. workers by hiring foreign workers. The effort is part of the government’s program to rein in employers’ reliance on temporary visas to fill some jobs, a practice the administration argues hurts U.S. workers and depresses wages (The Hill).

> The Education Department’s shift away from weighing “systemic” bias, pursued in the Obama years, to ruling on individual complaints has narrowed the department’s approach to civil rights enforcement after 18 months (The Washington Post).

OPINION

Trump’s crony capitalists plot a new heist at Treasury by The New York Times editorial board, https://nyti.ms/2At2dQd

A single courageous senator could derail the Trump administration, by Stephen Trimble, opinion contributor, The Hill. http://bit.ly/2OByM1k

WHERE AND WHEN

The House is out until after Labor Day.

The Senate convenes at 10 a.m. and is expected to complete work on a $154.2 billion package of spending bills for 2019. The Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee this afternoon explores NASA’s scientific priorities and a “Search for Life: Utilizing Science to Explore our Solar System and Make New Discoveries.”

The president today meets with Ben Carson, secretary of Housing and Urban Development. In the afternoon, Trump meets with inner-city pastors in the Cabinet Room, and hosts a group of GOP senators in the Oval Office.

Vice President Pence is in Hawaii, where he’ll remain through the weekend. Today he speaks during a ceremony at Hickam Air Force Base in Pearl Harbor. He’ll be joined by U.S. Army Pacific Commanding General Bob Brown while receiving some remains of American service members killed during the Korean War. Pence will be briefed and tour the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Lab at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo today begins a trip to Asia through Aug. 5, including stops in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Singapore; and Jakarta, Indonesia.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions flies to Little Rock, Ark., this morning to speak to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Arkansas, about violent crime. Later today, he heads to Pearcy, Ark., to host a roundtable event for the Federal Commission on School Safety. The group will discuss school personnel and law enforcement, and how schools solicit input about safety from parents and students.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka meets the news media at 9 a.m. at a newsmaker breakfast sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor in downtown Washington.

ELSEWHERE

> Sixty-five years later, Korean War veterans’ families are still waiting (The New Yorker)

> How to come to grips with a huge, $36.2 trillion estimated federal price tag for “Medicare for all.” Some experts go beyond the sticker shock (Kaiser Health News) … More on the study that prompted controversy (The Hill).

> Does America want more from its toilets? The smart toilet is here. Whether consumers buy them is the question (U.S. News & World Report).

THE CLOSER

And finally … Caper of the week …Shark-napping! “Miss Helen,” a horn shark disguised by abductors as a baby in a stroller, has to be THE crime of summer. She was nabbed Saturday afternoon from her home in the San Antonio Aquarium in Texas but is said this morning to be doing swimmingly after an ordeal that involved some manhandling, a bucket, a pram, a getaway truck and a liquid lair, followed by police rescue.

One suspect was arrested and charged with felony theft, and two others are being sought. Miss Helen earned her 15 minutes of viral fame, as did the alleged thieves (Cox Media).

Don’t miss some grainy video of the watery abduction HERE.

Comment from one knowing observer on Twitter: “The most shocking part of this story is that it didn’t happen in Florida.”

The Morning Report is created by journalists Jonathan Easley jeasley@thehill.com & Alexis Simendinger asimendinger@thehill.com. Suggestions? Tips? We want to hear from you! Share The Hill’s reporting and newsletters, and encourage others to SUBSCRIBE!