“The possibility of Trump exploding has gone up.” Meet the Utahn who speaks for the special counsel. Interior to toss Obama-era methane rules.
Happy Monday. Former FBI Director James Comey’s new book has really enraged President Donald Trump, those close to the president are saying. And it’s prompted some response from Trump and more to come. “It’s almost like Comey wrote some of the stuff in the book just to get under Trump’s skin and goad him into saying something outrageous,” said a former White House official. [Politico]
Topping the news: Meet Peter Carr, the Utah native who is the spokesman for special counsel Robert Mueller in his investigation into the alleged Russian collusion in the 2016 presidential election. [Trib]
-> The Interior Department is planning to get rid of Obama-era rules on methane flaring on pubic and tribal lands — including those in Utah — though critics say it will cost taxpayers. [Trib]
-> Eighteen of Utah’s 99 legislative candidates faced no real obstacle to getting on the primary ballot at county party conventions on Saturday because they had gathered enough signatures to qualify. [Trib]
-> The family of former Salt Lake County Recorder Gary Ott, who died in October, has settled with Ott’s former employee and fiancée to allow her to keep Ott’s house. [Trib]
Tweets of the day: From @ryanbeckwith: “Can a pardon be a subtweet?”
-> From @ConanOBrien: “I also paid my doorman to lie once — he told the delivery guy my order was for two people”
-> From @_Zeets: “James Comey is 6′8” and decided to be a fed instead of helping LeBron win a championship. I’m not listening to anything he has to say.”
Happy Birthday: To Derek Miller, president and CEO of World Trade Center Utah.
In other news: Utah leaders on Friday praised the U.S. airstrikes against Syria. [DNews]
-> The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finalized new rules Thursday that make it easier to kill or remove endangered Utah prairie dogs if they’re on private property. [APviaTrib]
-> The Forest Service approved a plan this week to allow Alta Ski Area to make controversial upgrades, including the building of a tram that could take 150 skiers an hour up one of the Central Wasatch’s highest peaks. [Trib]
-> Several candidates at Saturday’s Salt Lake County Democratic Convention were glad they chose to collect signatures to get on the primary election ballot. [Trib]
-> Most state legislative incumbents bypassed their opponents at Saturday’s Salt Lake County Republican Convention, allowing them to move directly to the November general election. [Trib]
-> A state public records board ruled on Thursday that the Davis County Sheriff’s Office can keep private the standards for Utah’s county jails and inspection information — an issue that could make its way to court. [Trib]
-> Some 300 Utahns held a rally at the Utah Capitol on Saturday to protest gun control efforts in conjunction with nationwide demonstrations. [Trib] [DNews] [ABC4] [KSL]
-> A group of about 40 protesters gathered in downtown Salt Lake City Sunday to decry Friday’s U.S. airstrikes on Syria. The protest was held in conjunction with other rallies around the country. [Trib]
-> Pat Bagley issues his “storm warning” for American democracy. [Trib]
-> Frank Pignanelli and LaVarr Webb predict what could happen at Saturday’s Utah Republican Convention. [DNews]
Nationally: The United States, Britain and France launched airstrikes against Syrian targets Friday to punish the country’s government for a suspected chemical weapons attack last weekend that killed 40 civilians. [NYTimes]
-> Former FBI Director James Comey — who was fired in May — faced backlash from President Donald Trump Friday for his new tell-all book, “A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership.” Comey called Trump “unethical” in the book and Trump tweeted that Comey was an “untruthful slime ball.” [NYTimes]
-> Comey also said in a televised interview Sunday that he believed Trump to be “morally unfit to be president” and said it was possible Russians had information that could be used to blackmail Trump. [WaPost]
-> According to Federal Election Commission records filed Sunday, Trump’s re-election campaign has spent more than 20 percent of its funds on legal fees this year. [WaPost]
-> Former vice president Joe Biden said in an interview Sunday he is considering a presidential run in 2020 but will decide by the end of the year. [WaPost]
-> Former first lady Barbara Bush, 92, is seriously ill and will not seek any more treatment to elongate her life but will focus now on “comfort care.” [NYTimes]
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— Thomas Burr and Madalyn Gunnell
Follow @sltribpolitics