House Oversight chairman to Trump: White House invites are for allies, not enemies. Ambassador Huntsman says he’s saying put. Stewart says Russia attacked U.S. elections but not to help Trump.
Happy Monday. House Oversight Chairman Trey Gowdy, a longtime supporter and defender of President Donald Trump, chastised the president for inviting Russian President Vladimir Putin to Washington, saying Sunday that some members of the president’s administration should consider quitting if Trump won’t listen to their advice. Invites to the White House, he said, should be reserved for American allies, not enemies. [Politico]
Topping the news: U.S. Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman responds to Tribune columnist Robert Gehrke -- who called on him to resign after Trump’s meeting with Vladimir Putin -- saying he is not stepping down. [Trib]
-> Rep. Chris Stewart says he has spent days looking at intelligence related to Russia’s interference with the 2016 presidential election and doesn’t believe Russia was trying to help President Donald Trump despite the U.S. intelligence community finding. [Trib]
-> Utah Transit Authority said an employee that was filmed making lewd comments to female passengers “is no longer employed” with the organization. [Trib]
Tweets of the day: From @danattrib: “I can honestly say that while @RobertGehrke can be pointed and provocative I have never been outraged by him (at least since he was a reporter and sometimes would disappear for a couple of hours around deadline.)”
-> From @aedwardslevy: “some say the world will end in fire some say in tweets”
-> From @TheRickWilson: “Next, he’ll have a summit with Rouhani, declare it was bigly wonderful, the MAGAs will go from ‘we must nuke Iran’ to ‘Iran isn’t the enemy. The real enemy is Never Trump.’”
In other news: Supporters of a controversial inland port proposal in Salt Lake City are reluctant to talk about how the global trading port could be impacted by the president’s trade war. [Trib]
-> One person was killed and another injured during a shooting at a Mormon church in Fallon, Nevada. [Fox13] [KUER] [KSL] [ABC4]
-> Bicyclists held the “777 Memorial Ride” Saturday to remember Cameron Hooper, a 22-year-old who was struck and killed by a Frontrunner train while riding with a large group last Thursday. [Trib]
-> A Utah mother who left a loaded handgun on a diaper-changing station in a bathroom near the play area of the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium will not be charged with reckless endangerment, according to prosecutors. [Trib] [Fox13]
-> Bird’s dockless electric scooters are returning to Salt Lake after the company received a business license from the city. [Trib]
-> About 50 people were rescued from the site of the Dollar Ridge Fire in Duchesne County after a burst of rain triggered a flash flood. [Trib]
-> Pat Bagley depicts the relationship between an accused Russian spy and the National Rifle Association. [Trib]
-> Frank Pignanelli and LaVarr Webb imagine what the Days of ’47 parade would look like if political themes were allowed. [DNews]
Nationally: President Donald Trump responded to Iran President Hassan Rouhani’s threat of a “mother of all wars” if the U.S. conflicts with Iran. Trump tweeted that there would be “consequences the likes of which few throughout history have suffered before" if the Iranian president threatens the US again. [NYTimes] [WaPost] [CNN]
-> Once again, the president changed his position on whether Russia interfered with the 2016 presidential election, backtracking to his initial stance and calling the issue “all a big hoax.” [WaPost] [TheHill] [Time]
-> More than two dozen pieces of legislation have been drafted in the past two weeks aimed at weakening the Endangered Species Act, revealing the Trump administration’s desire to overhaul the 45-year-old law. [NYTimes] [PBS]
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-- Thomas Burr and Connor Richards
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