August 01, 2018 09:39 AM UTC

Get More Smarter on Wednesday (August 1)

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• by: Colorado Pols

Welcome to August. It’s time to Get More Smarter. If you think we missed something important, please include the link in the comments below (here’s a good example). If you are more of a visual learner, check out The Get More Smarter Show.

TOP OF MIND TODAY… 

► President Trump is growing ever bolder in his statements about the investigation into potentially-illegal coordination between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. As the Washington Post reports:

President Trump called the prosecution of his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort “a hoax” Wednesday and urged Attorney General Jeff Sessions to terminate the investigation into Russian election interference.

In several tweets, Trump escalated his attacks on the investigation, led by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, that includes examining whether Trump’s campaign coordinated with Russia and whether Trump has obstructed the probe…

…Trump called Mueller’s probe “a terrible situation” that should be stopped “before it continues to stain our country any further.”

This is not the first time that Trump has called for an end to the Russia probe, but Wednesday’s Twitter tirade is the first time that Trump has directly called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to put an end to special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.

► It was about two years ago when Congressman Mike Coffman (R-Aurora) received national attention for running a television ad in which he promised to “stand up” to Donald Trump. Things are different now, as they always are with Coffman; the Aurora Congressman is now among the most consistent votes for Trump’s agenda on Capitol Hill, and he’s among a group of Republican candidates who will be receiving contributions from  Trump’s re-election campaign coffers.

► The Trump administration is considering implementing new 25% tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. China is warning of retaliation in a trade war that has already proven incredibly costly to Coloradans.

► Stop the presses! (if they still exist). Congress might actually try to do something before the November election.

Get even more smarter after the jump…

IN CASE YOU ARE STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…

► A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the distribution of blueprints for 3D-printed guns amid concerns about a proliferation of new untraceable firearms. From Vox.com:

US District Judge Robert Lasnik’s restraining order in Seattle effectively halted a company’s plans to release the designs, arguing, “There is a possibility of irreparable harm because of the way these guns can be made.”

The order followed President Donald Trump’s comments raising concerns about 3D-printed guns. Trump had tweeted on Tuesday morning, “I am looking into 3-D Plastic Guns being sold to the public. Already spoke to NRA, doesn’t seem to make much sense!”

Since making a 3D-printed gun only requires a 3D printer, the right materials, and a blueprint, the concern is that 3D-printed guns will make it easy to bypass a host of state and federal laws. Printing a gun doesn’t require a background check or any documentation, offering a workaround for people who are legally prohibited from buying a gun now due to, say, a criminal record or history of mental illness. A 3D-printed gun can also be easily made without a serial number or anything that would make these firearms easily traceable if they’re used in a crime.

Distributing blueprints for 3D-printed guns was blocked by the Obama administration. The reason this is becoming a bigger issue today is because Trump’s Justice Department initially agreed to a settlement to allow distributor Cody Wilson the right to freely disseminate the gun blueprints.

► Democrat Jared Polis and Republican Walker Stapleton are going to spend a lot of time on the debate stage this fall.

► The Trump administration is pursuing a proposal to cut capital gains taxes and bypassing Congress in the process.

Trump is apparently unconcerned about a rapidly-rising national debt that could soon lead to trillion-dollar annual deficits.

Trillion. With a ‘T.’

► “Deadbeat” Don Bendell. Sometimes a nickname just creates itself.

► Another prominent Deadbeat Republican is taking his career in a different direction. State Rep. Tim Leonard (R-Evergreen) is apparently dropping his re-election bid in HD-25.

► White House Chief of Staff John Kelly has reportedly agreed to remain with President Trump through the 2020 election cycle. The odds of this actually happening? Probably not good.

► The Koch Brothers are “a total joke,” according to President Trump. As Politico reports, this is about to get ugly:

After refusing to support President Donald Trump during the 2016 election, the Kochs’ political machine in Washington worked with him to land major victories in their shared agenda on tax reform, and the conservative group was thrilled with Trump’s environmental deregulation and Supreme Court picks.

But now, the Koch behemoth looks ready to blow up the awkward stalemate. The massive political network — big enough and wealthy enough to rival the Republican Party itself — is betting that by throwing its weight around and threatening GOP candidates’ access to the group’s vaults of cash for television ads and door-to-door canvassing, it can persuade Republicans to buck Trump on his protectionist trade and restrictive immigration policies, among a range of other issues.

The Koch Brothers held their annual donor retreat in Colorado Springs last weekend. Among the topics that came up: Concerns about a return to “McCarthyism” under the current Republican administration.

► The Colorado Independent reports on local impacts from the Trump administration’s push to overhaul the Endangered Species Act.

► The new, and very expensive, VA Hospital in Aurora began taking its first patients on Tuesday.

► 9News reports on efforts to promote a GoFundMe page to raise the $10,000 needed to put a portrait of President Trump in the Colorado State Capitol. Last week a prankster placed a portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin near an empty spot reserved for Trump’s portrait; the prank became a worldwide sensation over the weekend.

► Kaiser Permanente is dropping thousands of Medicaid patients in Weld and Larimer counties.

► Colorado is not burning as much as it was earlier this summer.