Friday Morning Scoop: The Comey-Trump Battle

Welcome to the Morning Scoop for Friday, April 13, 2018. 

Follow this link to get the Morning Scoop in your inbox or send it to a friend, which would make us happy. Don’t do it and you’ll get totally spooked for Friday the 13th! 

James Comey Attacks Trump in New Book Set to Release Next Week

Former FBI Director James Comey, who was fired by President Trump in May of last year, has written a book about his experience under the Trump administration entitled, ‘A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership.’ Although the book is not set to release until next week, NBC News was able to obtain a copy yesterday and spill the details.

Comey’s book fills in the blanks on many significant investigations, including Hillary Clinton’s email scandal, the Russian interference in the 2016 elections, and the related Steele dossier which reported that Trump had in fact colluded with Russia. Most significantly, Comey describes that Trump’s team, upon discovering that Russia may have interfered, debated on how to maximize this to their “political advantage.” He went as far to compare Trump’s advisory team to the New York Mafia organizations that he had prosecuted in his early career.

Throughout his book, Comey mentions that Trump has all of the markings of a truly dishonest person; a statement that has infuriated Trump-supporters everywhere. Many of these supporters have taken to Twitter to call Comey’s statements both “fabricated,” and “delusional.” As of 8:17AM, President Trump has fired back, tweeting that James Comey is an “untruthful slimeball,” and “a terrible director of the FBI.”

Michael Brown Demands Apology from Local Fox Reporter

Michael Brown, the Houston high school student who received scholarships to some of the top twenty colleges, was criticized last week by local Washington, D.C. reporter for “taking a spot away” from other incoming college freshmen. The Fox affiliate reporter went as far as to call Brown’s choice to apply to so many schools “ridiculous,” which was mirrored by her co-host’s comment that it was also “obnoxious.”

Brown tweeted two days after the incident that although he had a respectful interview at Fox 5, he was not going to let the station air the segment until he receives an apology from the reporter. His mother reported to USA Today that the reporter failed to actually apologize, instead saying, “I didn’t mean to offend you.” The station did not make a public apology, and declined USA Today’s request for comment. The co-host, however, has apologized to both Brown and his mother, stating that she “has learned a valuable lesson.”

CMN’s Nicole Masaki writes her perspective here.

Khloe Has A Baby!

Khloe Kardashian has welcomed a baby girl into the world today with boyfriend Tristan Thompson. This news comes just two days after the Daily Mail published a video of what appears to be Thompson kissing another woman at a club in New York.

Kardashian and Thompson announced that they were expecting via an Instagram post on December 20. Khloe Kardashian has not announced the name of her new baby yet, and will most likely wait a few days like her other siblings have in the past.

Read Roxanneh Mousavi’s report here.

Today in a Tweet: Black Cat Protection Squad

The cutest part of Friday the 13th.

Last But Not Least: Venezuelan Photographer Wins ‘Photo of the Year’ Award 

Ronaldo Schemidt of Venezuela was awarded ‘Photo of the Year’ from the World Press Foundation for his shocking capture of a local protester on fire. The subject of the image was set ablaze after clashes with Venezuelan police had escalated, and the police motorcycle engine exploded. Schemidt shared with World Press that the photo is symbolic of the “entire country of Venezuela burning.” (Warning, the some may find the picture below disturbing):

The World Photo Contest this year received 73,044 submissions, and the top selections can be viewed here.

Friday’s Morning Scoop was compiled by Nicole Masaki, Roxanneh Mousavi and Carla Loebenstein (who is technically on the CMN Staff, but her dad told her that he “never sees her name in the Morning Scoop”). Don’t let today’s scary date distract you from the fact that it’s still a Friday!